Sweet Stranger
by baby-kitsune9
Summary: Sinbad never thought he was the settling down type until an enchanted birthday gift found him the perfect woman to be his queen. Now all he had to do was convince the stunning beauty that they were meant to be. Sinbad/OC rated M for later chapters. re-wrote the last of chap 9 please R&R.
1. Chapter 1

It all started on Sinbad's birthday.

All of Sindria, the seven sea's alliance, his generals and closest friends were each sitting at their king's table out in the middle of the town where every man, woman and child were celebrating their king's twenty seventh year.

Each of them bringing to him a wide range of gifts ranging from fine colorful silks and velvets and furs. To a wide range of lovely and unique gems all in several chests filled to the brim. And then there were herbs and spices and oils, the finest any royal could ever lay their hands on. To the smallest and simplest of gifts, necklaces made of sea shells and exotic flowers that he had never seen before.

And toys, of course, from the children since children had no clue what to give an adult man.

And Sinbad accepted each of them with a smile, even taking a little time to pull each of the little children into his lap and personally thank them for their toys. He had no use for them, but because the little ones were happy thinking he liked them, that made them precious to him.

And who knew, maybe this year his general's would _finally_ wear him down and wrangle him into marrying some poor unsuspecting woman and starting a family. God only knew that their king needed a few heirs running around and causing mischief like most children are want to do. Besides it was expected of him to do these things as the king of his own little island kingdom.

How hard could it be for one man to find a likeable, hopefully pretty woman to marry and impregnate, you ask.

Apparently very hard. Sinbad was well known across the seven sea's for being a notorious womanizer. And aptly so. Put a pretty woman in front of him and his mind automatically went into the gutter. But then not all of his reputation could be totally blamed on him...just...about ninety percent of it.

The rest of his ill earned reputation could be blamed on his more than average good looks and how beautiful women just seemed to flock to him like flies to honey. And of course it also didn't help that he had this habit of treating all of the women like they were special. Letting them sit in his lap, feeding them some of his food if asked to do so-

Even if they all turned out to be gold digging floozies, he treated them like they were wonderful. And perhaps they were. Perhaps his general's just didn't see the women around him as he did.

Luckily for them, their prayers were about to be answered in a most unusual way.


	2. Chapter 2

It was finally time for the conclusion of the party. Which was good since Ja'far and several others were all either far into their cups or passed out drunk from all the wine they had consumed. Whereas everyone else- Sinbad himself included- was just plain tired and wanted to seek out their beds.

Ducking his head to hide the fact that he was biting back a yawn, Sinbad rose from his seat and was about to conclude the party with a few choice words then send everyone home when he was forced to stop by the sudden appearance of a short little man with a red face carrying something long and flat under one arm.

"Forgive me, oh king, for I didn't know what to bring you for this most joyous day." The man said with a slight bow in Sinbad's direction.

He was laying the charm on a bit thick. Perhaps thinking that he was in trouble for not appearing earlier in the night. However Sinbad simply blinked at him for a moment and then smiled and replied,

"That's quite alright friend. You look as if you ran all the way here-" It wasn't a question, the little guy really looked as if he had run all the way there. And it wasn't just his red face that made Sinbad wonder if he had. No, it was the fact that the man was sweating and a bit out of breath too.

Come to think of it- perhaps the man hadn't run- it was only recently that Sinbad had been made aware of a specific ailment that targeted the heart. And the only reason he now knew about that was one of his royal guard had been out preforming his duties several months ago and had suddenly and rather abruptly- dropped to his knees clutching at his chest and fighting for breath.

Sinbad had had one of his generals, a magician and healer, look at the lad and try to help him. But it had been too late. The poor lad had passed away right before Sinbad's eyes.

He had just been twenty three.

Not much younger than Sinbad himself. Perhaps that's why it bothered Sinbad so to see this man, though he was by no leap of the imagination- a young man. Why it was easy to see the grey and white lacing his hair and beard. Still Sin wasn't an unkind or uncaring person.

Making his way over to the man who now had the rapt attention of everyone still awake and not drunk (and Ja'far) who had just woken himself up by letting his head hit the table in front of him and was now just sort of laying there with one bleary green eye open.

Lazily watching to see what would happen next as Sinbad paused just a step or so from the stranger and reached out to grasp what he had hidden under a piece of heavy purple velvet. Upon grasping the item and helping the man set it up so that it stood diagonally in front of him, Sinbad was struck by how tall the item was.

Why it was almost as tall as he!

And he stood at six foot three. Imposing, yes. But not terribly so.

Still his curiosity was piqued. What could the item possibly be? He wondered curiously as the man took a moment to lean against it a little bit and catch his breath before straightening his spine and saying, "Thank you, my king for waiting so patiently. I'm afraid I'm not as young as I used to be."

Sinbad merely smiled warmly, not the least bit perturbed as the man finally reached out and grasped the velvet and said happily, "My king, I am not a wealthy man- but I do have a few things of great worth. And of those things I wish to present you with this day, is a mirror that I came into possession of as a young lad. Now sire, this mirror is special- fore it was given to me by a Queen who came from another world. And she told me something rather peculiar before leaving it with me. And that was that the mirror has a way to bring hearts together from a great distance. And so- I present you with the Queen's mirror." And with a strong pull, pulled the velvet from the mirror to show it to Sinbad.

It was a lovely piece of intricate work and detail, Sinbad thought as he admired the gold swirls around the outer edges with silver and mother of pearl inlay. Truly it was a piece of art fit for any king. And though it was a gift, Sinbad had no use for it.

He wasn't like other kings. He wasn't vain about his appearance and cared little for how people wasted so much of their time and their lives before looking glasses such as this.

However the idea that this particular looking glass was enchanted in some way- sent a thrill of excitement down his spine. Which is perhaps why he uttered the words that would not only change his world, shake things up around the palace, but alter his fate all together...

 _"How does it work?"_


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry for the slow update on this and pretty much everything else.**

 **There was a shooting just several miles from where I live that on Thursday that killed several military officers.**

 **And on top of that my hubby found a solid black male kitten, about eight weeks old, that had been abandoned where he worked and now we're taking care of little Shadow until we can hopefully find him a good home and it's thrown _my_ home into total chaos because my four other cats can't make up their mind on whether they like him, love him, or just want to kill him.**

 **There's already been three attempts on his little life and my cats currently hate me for interfering. So I'm a little bit frazzled.**

 **Anyways, here is what I can get out for now. I hope it turns out okay.**

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 _"How does it work?" Sinbad asked with a strangely curious gleam in his honey golden eyes..._

Later that night after the festivities had wound down and everyone had returned to the palace toting Sinbad's many, many gifts behind them- Sinbad sat in a deep red velvet plush chair, his chin propped in one hand while he used his other to swirl the wine in the goblet held loosely in his hand. His eyes staring at the mirror as he wondered whether or not he should give it a try and see what happened.

It wasn't that he believed the man that had given it to him per se, though he had wove a spectacular and entertaining tale. Perhaps a little too spectacular and entertaining.

As outlandish as it all had sounded, Sinbad couldn't help but feel this peculiar nagging sense in the back of his mind that the mirror he was currently staring a hole through- wasn't just some ordinary mirror.

So here he sat. Just waiting for something, anything really, to happen. He had been sitting for about an hour when he finally sighed and was about to give up and seek his bed for what was left of the night when suddenly the glass slowly begun to ripple like water that had just had a pebble tossed into it for several moments, causing Sin to lean forward a little bit in his seat.

His once lazy demeanor changing instantly as an image begun to take shape in the glass as it finally settled. Sinbad blinked at the image for a moment before realizing just what he was looking at. His honey colored eyes going wide as his jaw went slack just a little bit.

 _Oh my-_ He thought as he continued to stare while absently setting aside his goblet. All while he drank in the sight before him.

There in the mirror was an exquisite image of a sleeping young woman with long tousled soft silvery blond hair, a heart shaped face bathed in the soft glow of moonlight, slightly parted pale rose colored lips. She was petite, and delicately boned- looking to Sinbad like a goddess that had fallen from the heavens- her chest rose and fell ever so slightly, the curves of her body somewhat emphasized by what she was wearing (a milky white colored lace and silk gown) that at the moment was riding up her long slender legs and was bunching around her thighs.

The bed she lay on was peculiar looking to him. He thought it peculiar because of the strange animal shaped pillows surrounding her head and body. And her bed... It was hardly befitting such a beauty in Sinbad's opinion. It looked hard and uncomfortable.

Why if such a beauty had desired- she could have shared his bed. It was nice and comfortable. He thought to himself before the image faded and the mirror became a simple looking glass once again.

Leaving the king sitting there once again with a peculiar feeling of loneliness nagging at him before he sighed and got to his feet and begun the somewhat tedious task of disrobing for bed.

He would try the mirror again tomorrow night and see what happened, he thought as he climbed into bed and closed his eyes and soon found himself dreaming of the pale haired vision that the mirror had shown him.


	4. Chapter 4

Several weeks later-

Sinbad sat in his room once again, before the mirror, watching and studying the young woman on the other side. He feels it is his place to watch, and learn what he can of her. And so far from what he had gathered she lived alone and that made her vulnerable. Vulnerable against what he didn't know.

And that made all that he did know was that she was in need of desperate need of protection and someone to care for her. She was in _need_ of him.

So he watched. And he learned what he could, noting that she kept a strange schedule that would put Ja'far to shame. Her living quarters, though slight- were neat and tidy and rarely did she ever leave anything just lying around.

She didn't even leave her dirty clothing lying around!

Which was an entirely new concept to the king, but nevertheless appreciated. Much like her independence. It was one of the first things Sinbad had noticed about her. She liked doing things on her own or not at all. And she did them at her own pace.

Whether it was climbing out of bed in the morning and getting dressed to styling her lovely silken hair and applying a strange sort of rogue to her lips and eye lids and then painting her fingernails some ridiculous color (like sea foam green or violet purple or silver).

Meanwhile outside his bedroom there was total chaos.

While Sin had been engrossing himself in his new and...albeit _slightly_ disturbing habit of watching the pretty girl in the mirror, and yes, even lusting after her to the point where he had practically become a bear ever since his birthday party- because he was soooo frustrated that he hadn't figured out a way to find the woman.

He had also accidentally let it slip that he was thinking of taking a wife and settling down during the last meeting he'd attended with his generals to discuss affairs of the state. He may have even accidentally have been day dreaming about the mystery girl when he not only broached the subject but mentioned that he knew who he wanted as his queen.

Which had naturally thrown his generals and everyone else into a tailspin of random bouts of happiness (after all it was about time Sin married and produced several dozen heirs) for their king and dear friend as well as several bouts of nervous break downs, random crying...and at least six or seven suicide attempts from Ja'far who had had to be talked down off of the palace roof every time and heavily sedated.

Apparently the mere thought of Sinbad marrying and having kids was enough to send to former assassin over the edge big time. Which left planning most of the royal wedding planning and decorating to the ladies and at least two of the men.

"No, no, lift the vine higher," Yamraiha said to the men trying to hang a special flowering vine so that it made the columns they were decorating look like flowering trees. Though in their opinion if the general Yamraiha didn't stop adding more flowers to the columns the blasted things would probably collapse under the weight of the vines and kill whoever would be walking under them. "Oh come on guys!" The blue haired woman snapped impatiently before adding, "Our king and his future queen will be walking under those vines!" She said as she used some of her rukh to make the usually pristine red flowers on the vine bloom, change color to white and begin to glow in opalescent colors of pink, lavender, and pale greens and blues.

Once done and the flowers were hung, Pitsi came skipping up and looked at the arrangement and grinned. "Unity flowers. Nice."

"Yes. Yes they are. And when we finish hanging a few more vines, more flowers must be collected to decorate the queens chamber for the wedding night and consummation of the marriage where I have it set for the flowers to turn blue once Sinbad and his lady wife are done, and the petals will fall from the flowers to blanket the room and hallways of the palace for days!"

Pitsi grinned happily and clapped her hands together before saying almost gleefully, "Oh! We need to do more than put Unity Flowers in the queens chamber- we need to decorate it so that it fits the lady."

"I agree. But due to the fact that we have yet to meet her in person that will be a mite difficult to do." Yamraiha pointed out to her overly chipper friend.

Pitsi's excitement suddenly seemed to fizzle out as she realized her friend was right and she said, "You know- now that you mention that... I wonder when King Sinbad is going to bring his lady to the palace and introduce her."

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Meanwhile in the other world-

Sinbad's new guilty pleasure sat on her bed, leaned over at the waist, zipping up the zipper on her favorite black leather ankle boots with three inch heels and then stood up and looked herself over in her full length mirror.

She had a job interview at a local club today to work as either a bar keeper or waitress. It was a classy high end place that demanded only the best of anyone who applied to work there. And sadly due to the fact that she had been on her own for over a year, since the only family she had left had died, she'd had to take care of herself.

And while she had known that it would happen eventually she wished she had planned ahead by leaps and bounds since the only nice things she had to wear to her interview were a wrap around teal colored 'kimono' style shirt with lavender and pale, pale pink cherry blossom print on it.

That while nice, showed far, far too much of her cleavage. Far more than she was comfortable with actually. And what you may ask made her stand before her mirror, look herself over and whimper, you ask.

It was the skirt.

The _damnable_ (barely covered her ass) denim skirt that she had had for three years. The one that at one point she had thought was 'cute' because she had been young and stupid and trolling for male tail.

Doing another once over she checked her hair, make-up, and again, her clothing and felt her palms start to sweat a little bit. "Oh, I look like a whore..." She muttered to herself as she inwardly cringed.

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Sinbad had been in mid drink when he had suddenly spewed out the wine that he'd had in his mouth and made a weird little squeaking sound as he gaped at the woman in wide eyed disbelief/fascination, horror.

He didn't know where she was or the customs of her country... But- She. Was. Not. Going. To. Leave. Her. Home. Dressed. Like. _That._ In fact she was never to go anywhere dressed in such a sexy way. Not unless she was with him and they were behind closed doors where he could fully appreciate how she was so scandalously clad.

He thought as she looked away, breaking eye contact with him and sighed while stepping back and turning to leave, causing what little brain functions the king had going at the moment due to the fact that all the blood in his head had more or less raced south- to create a panic-like effect on him that caused him to jump up out of his chair as she made for her door and do something stupid.

Like shout, "No! Don't do it!" And trip over his own feet as he lunged for her, temporarily forgetting that she was 'mirror girl' and not standing before him as flesh and blood as both he and the mirror toppled ungracefully to the floor and her image disappeared.


	5. Chapter 5

**Previously-**

 _He thought as she looked away, breaking eye contact with him and sighed while stepping back and turning to leave, causing what little brain functions the king had going at the moment due to the fact that all the blood in his head had more or less raced south- to create a panic-like effect on him that caused him to jump up out of his chair as she made for her door and do something stupid._

 _Like shout, "No! Don't do it!" And trip over his own feet as he lunged for her, temporarily forgetting that she was 'mirror girl' and not standing before him as flesh and blood as both he and the mirror toppled ungracefully to the floor and her image disappeared._

(**************************************************************************************************************************************)

Mya sat in the local park, on a bench with her head in her hands. The job interview that she had gone to this morning hadn't gone very well at all. And while that a bit of an understatement, her mind replayed all of the sorted details for her from beginning to end nearly making her break down in tears.

She remembered walking into the club on time, being ushered into the boss guy's office where he had introduced himself as- as, ya know what she sucked with names anyways. She ever since she had been twelve, so his name was Mr. Mann, and handed in her resume and answered his questions while he had looked it over.

And everything had seemed to be going good at first. Really.

Until Mr. Mann had set her resume down on his desk and looked her over and a devious look had crossed his face a mere moment before he had said easily with just enough regret in his tone to make her believe him, "Well I'm sorry Mya, but the positions as waitress and bartender have been filled." And carefully watched her expression for signs of weakness.

She must have accidentally let herself slip for a moment because one moment she was getting ready to get up and leave, feeling more than a little rejected when Mann had then said, "We do however have some openings for someone to work the VIP lounges..."

Thinking that that might be something she'd be able to do, she asked. "What would be required of me?"

Mann smirked at her from across his desk and eyed her in a way that would make any woman's skin crawl. It was then that she realized what he wanted from her. And it turned her stomach as she slowly got up and picked up her purse and said in her most frosty tone as she stared him down. "I don't know what kind of business you think you're running here buddy- but you won't be running it long."

"Oh." Mann said with an amused expression on his face.

He had no idea why she was getting her dander up. She had come to him looking for work and selling oneself for money was one of the oldest professions in the history of the world. And so what if she would be exposing herself to illness and disease and even the possibility of pregnancy.

That wasn't his problem. No- his main concern would be how much he could sell her pussy for, and for how long before one of his more rowdy customers broke or killed her.

And apparently- she wasn't as dumb as he had thought her to be if she had caught on so quickly with so little information. It was enough to make him laugh, that she was warning him. She looked as adorable as a wet kitten, hissing and spitting and baring it's claws at him that he actually felt his lips curve up in a slight smile.

Until he blinked and missed her picking up his fifteen pound solid crystal paper weight and leaned across his desk, giving him a _fantastic_ view of her breasts that was just distracting enough to him that he didn't realize at all how much danger he was in until she had the perfect line up with his crotch and then-

She threw the crystal down on his balls with enough force to cause something to rupture.

The slime ball had been loaded into an ambulance, under heavy sedation while she had stood off to the side talking to the cops about the incident. And while she couldn't find it in herself to care less about Mann's busted balls or the fact that he would likely never be able to use them again. It didn't do anything to help her jobless situation.

Which was why she had been so frustrated afterwards that she had gone out to get some ice cream as a means to comfort herself, but as soon as she had sat down in the park and set the ice cream down beside her so that she could think- a little kid had run by and grabbed it.

And the last thing she needed to top off her wonderful morning was to chase said kid down and steal back her ice cream.

People might think her nuts if she did.


	6. Chapter 6

**I haven't given up yet...**

 **Enjoy.**

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Several days later-

Sinbad walked through the halls of his palace aimlessly. The wheels in his mind turning just a bit more rapidly than normal. It had been about three or four days since he had last seen anything pertaining to the object of his fascination and he was steadily becoming more and more worried about her since the mirror hadn't shown him anything since he had tackled it.

He was worried that something may have happened to her. But most of all, he was beginning to fear that he had somehow broken what small connection the mirror had to the woman, thus making it unable for him to see her again.

And because of all of the things on his mind... He had been unusually somber, something that his general's and closest of friends didn't miss- but did however quietly speculate among themselves as to whether something had happened between Sinbad and their 'future' queen to have caused the man to become so unusually somber.

Ja'far and the men all agreed that something probably did happen between their king and his lady while the women held out _some_ hope that their queen hadn't been cruel enough to dump the man.

Sinbad may have many faults, after all, but was a good king and generally a good man as well. And due to the fact that he was the king of one of the smallest- but greatest merchant kingdom- he was more wealthy than most royals and more handsome too.

Why any woman in the world would kill just to have him!

So then why was it that the woman that their king had chosen for himself didn't seem to want him? Or perhaps that wasn't the problem at all. Perhaps it had more to do with her relatives being reluctant to part with her or their greed or something... Yes, maybe that was the problem.

Maybe the woman's relatives were demanding an unreasonably high price for her hand as a wedding dowry. And though they knew money wasn't much of an object for Sinbad- they also knew that regardless of how he felt about the woman, he would never give in to any unreasonable demands pertaining to his wealth.

Even if it meant giving up on a potential future of happiness.

Something that the eight generals _hoped_ hadn't happened.

(**************************************************************************************************************)

Mya sat on the floor of her bedroom staring almost blankly ahead at the image of the masculinely beautiful, exotic looking man there. This had been going on ever since the other night. An image of the man would appear and she would practically drop everything (in some cases literally) just to see what he was up too.

Today it appeared as if her mystery man were troubled by something. She could tell from the way he moved, the slight turn of his head every now and again, the blank expression on his face- that something was obviously deeply troubling him.

She just wished that she knew what it was that was making him so- so- so _upset_.

Shifting her position a little bit, she moved cautiously, in closer to the mirror and hesitantly reached out with one hand and very gently traced his jaw with her finger tips as she muttered softly under her breath, "What's wrong with you?" As if he would or could reply to her question if she just waited long enough.

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Sinbad stood quietly in the garden behind the palace with a semi vacant look on his face as he surveyed the multitudes of exotic, fragrant plants and flowers in bloom and thought back on how he had designed the lay out and then spent years collecting each and every plant from all kinds of places from all over the world.

Back then, the garden had been one of the first things he had created. Long before his kingdom, or his palace- the garden had been the one thing just as important as his other dreams. Because it had represented an unknown part of his future that had yet to play out.

In all honesty he had made the garden specifically with his 'queen' in mind. Pouring all of his hopes into it as he imagined the day he would finally find her.

The one.

He snorted at his own thoughts. Who knew that such a skirt chaser and womanizer could be such a damned romantic at heart? Perhaps it was for the best that the mirror no longer showed her to him. Now he could sleep at night without tormenting himself with thoughts of what could and might have been.

After all, it wasn't as I he had much to offer a beauty like her- He started to think as he hung his head a little bit and fisted his hands at his sides so tightly that his nails bit into his palms drawing blood. He hated himself right now. Hated how unsure and unconfident he felt.

So unlike himself...

He was about to order several of the palace guards watching him to rip up the plants and flowers when his voice suddenly died in his throat as he felt what was the unmistakable sensation of someone running gently, stroking fingertips along his jaw making his eyes go wide and his body tremble ever so slightly while his heart thudded almost painfully against his ribs.

And suddenly he felt it. The same subtle fissure or power he felt from the mirror whenever it was showing him the woman.

The weight he'd been carrying in his heart lifted and the king smirked. She had reached him. He was almost giddy with excitement as the thought pounded at his skull.

She had reached him! Touched him in some unearthly way using their connection!

And if she could touch him...imagine what he could do to her.


	7. Chapter 7

That day Sinbad spent a majority of his time pacing in his room in front of the mirror and thinking. She'd touched him. He still couldn't seem to wrap his mind around that fact. But there it was as clear as the nose on his face.

She had somehow managed to _touch_ him. To trace her gentle fingers along the curve of his jaw in such a loving caress that it made him shiver and his manhood ache with such longing that he wished so strongly to take her into his arms and hold her.

Which meant that she could probably see him even if he couldn't see her. Which was good for the king to know if he was going to implement a plan of some sort in order to touch her as well. After all, what fun was it for just the woman to become familiar with him and his body? Why shouldn't he become familiar with hers as well?

Especially since he planned to find a way to bring her to Sindria and wed her.

Moving over to the mirror, he extended one of his hands and laid it flat against the cool glass of the mirror and thought for a moment. How best to get an obviously enchanted object to react?

The answer was rukh. To get a magical or enchanted object to react to his wishes, he needed to feed it some of his rukh. Not much, and certainly not enough to drain him- but enough to bend the enchantment (whatever it was) to his will. Closing his gold colored eyes, he focused on doing just that and after a moment or so felt the glass begin to warm under his fingertips and slowly opened his eyes as the surface began to ripple under his hand, signaling to him that he would once again see his future queen.

Standing there patiently as the image of his queen formed, he could see that this time she was bathing this time. Her body half submerged by soapy water and her long hair was up in a strange style to keep it off of her nape while she splashed around in the waters.

Mouth dry, heart hammering against his ribs, his breathing feeling more than a little strained and his cock throbbing painfully. Dear gods- he didn't think he'd ever seen a more beautiful image to behold than the woman he would marry one day very, very soon.

But for now- for now, he wished to touch her as she had him earlier when he'd been in such distress.

Taking a moment to remove his hand from the mirror, he quickly striped down so that he was as naked as she. His muscles flexing under his golden tan skin as he reached up and untied the leather tie at his nape- freeing his long purple hair while he thought about how to go about what he was planning.

She stood up and he inhaled sharply at the sight of her lovely body as his cock throbbed as if to remind him that it was still there and standing ready or action. As his eyes were drawn to every dip, every valley and every curve of her body.

Reaching up, Sinbad put his index finger and middle finger in his mouth and wet them with his tongue as he waited for his future queen to dry herself off just enough to feel what he was going to do to her body and when he saw the opening he needed- he took it.

Removing his fingers from his mouth to run them along the shell of her ear and down to her neck then leaned forward a bit and breathed along the image of her nape, noting how she suddenly froze up. All movement's suddenly ceasing as if they had never been a moment before she slowly reached up to touch her nape. A small frown marring her features as Sinbad continued his assault on her senses.

Moving forward until the entire front of his body was pressed against the mirror, he built a strong mental image in his mind of standing right behind her. His hands resting lightly on her hips, his throbbing sex resting against the small of her back, rubbing himself against her as he pressed his mouth against her shoulder and almost could feel her twitch under his ministrations.

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Mya's mind was spinning from the second she felt the phantom hands and- and _other_ things, touching her. The phantom hands and mouth seemed to be everywhere all at once. And though she knew it was wrong, and wanted to feel- well a certain level of anger and violation.

Her mind and body just didn't seem to want to cooperate with her as she felt herself being maneuvered so that her back was against the sink counter, mere moments before she felt something hard and wet scrape against her throat semi roughly before those hot phantom lips kissed the slight stinging sensation left in their wake, away.

She brought her hands up to her chest as if to protect herself from what was happening when she felt something tug, once, twice- three times on her bath towel before it fell away from her. Leaving her totally exposed. Something that she hadn't been expecting as the phantom hands and mouth continued their assault on her body until she felt so weak in the knees that she would have fallen if the invisible force hadn't have been there to hold her up.

She felt large invisible hands cup and tease her breasts as the mouth kissed it's way down from her throat to where the hands were- sending little shock waves of electricity through her body before one of the hands slipped between her legs and began to gently probe and stroke her most secret place, causing her to arch her back and scream as she was tormented until she came.

Then just like they had appeared, the phantom man vanished. Leaving her sitting on the floor of her bathroom in a puddle of her own cum wondering what the hell had just happened.


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry- I'm working. I swear!**

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Needless to say- she didn't sleep a wink in her home that night. Instead she took another bath to clean the cum from her body and then once she was finished, she settled herself down in the bedroom, wrapped in the nicest fluffiest towel she had. Still trying to make sense of what had happened earlier.

And the closest thing she could seem to even wrap her mind around was this. She had been molested by a ghost or spirit or something.

And the more she thought about it, the creepier it felt. Mainly because she didn't know why it had happened. But she had a feeling that it was going to continue and then escalate until something even stranger happened. Like something along the lines of becoming pregnant with a half ghost child or something.

Which sounded more like a different plot line to one of her old teenage favorite TV shows, Danny Phantom.

Bringing her knees up to her chest underneath the towel, she debated on leaving and perhaps temporarily moving in with an old friend from school but after some serious debating, decided against that since most of her friends seemed to hate her for some reason or another.

And with no place else to go... She was stuck and that thought for some reason absolutely _terrified_ her. Or perhaps it was the thought of the unknown thingy that was now lurking somewhere in her home that terrified her. Honestly at this point she no longer knew.

She just knew that she was stuck with something unknown and unfamiliar that obviously had strange appetites and she wasn't sure what was going to happen from here on.

She stayed up all night and most of the morning, thinking this over and over until her head began to ache. And even though she knew it was a mistake to take her eyes off of the mirror that was possibly the source of her discomfort (if the softly glowing light that had begun emanating from it about an hour ago was any indication at all) she couldn't help herself anymore.

She was exhausted.

Her eyes heavy, she felt herself slowly slumping over where she sat as she let her eyes finally drift closed and she slipped into a dreamless sleep and as she drifted, felt herself drifting.

Drifting-

Down, down, down...

(*************************************************************************************************************************)

Sinbad was heading to his private quarters after taking care of a long and tedious day of difficult affairs of state. Preparing for the upcoming festival of fertility, setting up new trade routes with other countries he'd never heard of before. And of course dealing with his general's and their nearly constant questions about his future Queen.

What's her name?

What country does she belong too?

Had he already bedded her- He had chosen to ignore the less than innocent questions since he wasn't sure how to respond. But the question about bedding her already had been a bit too far.

He had turned on the asker of the question with a fierceness that had even Ja'far and some of his more well known generals currently avoiding him. So after that- he had decided to leave what was left of his paper work and affairs of state in the capable hands of his former assassin/vicar.

And had decided it was in everyone's best interest if he simply retired until it was time for the evening meal. Besides, hopefully by then he would be less annoyed with his people and more like his usual self again.

Rolling his broad shoulders, he used a hand to massage the tense muscles in his neck as he reached his private chambers and started to lay a hand against the heavy, intricately crafted door when all of a sudden he felt a severe disturbance in the rukh around him.

It was so severe it was visible to the naked eye of every man, woman and child in Sindria.

Each and every bit of it's pure white light gathering and converging on the palace. Or more specifically, his room. Pushing the door open, prepared for a fight, Sinbad stopped just inside the door when upon looking around for several moments he noted that the only difference in his room was that there was someone slumped over to the side, with their back propped up against his bed.

Scowling, he bit the inside of his cheek- Oh but he would have some words for whoever was sleeping in his room later on- he made his way over to where the person was, intending to wake them and demand to know what they were doing in his room when upon getting closer, he noticed that the person was a female.

He could tell by the barely concealed charms of her naked body partially hidden underneath the cloth covering her. Moving over to the slight figure partially leaning to the side, Sinbad knelt down and froze when he got a good look at her half covered face.

His eyes widened, his whole body began to tremble, his heart slammed against his ribs so hard that it was almost painful as he carefully reached out and slipped his arms around his sleeping Queen's body and pulled her into the shelter of his body with a pleasant sigh as he slowly began to run his fingers through her long silvery blond hair.


	9. Chapter 9

**Sorry- the last bit didn't make much sense in the original so I re-did it.**

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It had been perhaps an hour since Sinbad had discovered his Queen lying slumped over on the floor next to his bed, naked underneath a slight piece of clothe. And in that time, he had removed her from the floor- placing her in the middle of his bed. And then went about trying to anticipate her every need or want.

And gathered clothing, shoes, jewels and even a large platter of food covered from one end to the other in meat, bread, cheese, various fruits and sweet rose wine for her to drink if she should thirst; so that she would want for nothing once she awoke.

And what else did he do while she slept, you ask? Nothing weird or terribly risqué.

He just removed half of his clothing with the exception of his pants and took the time to undo his hair and grabbed a large glass basin of water and a small piece of clothe and after adding the slightest scent of dark spice scented oil to the water- took the time to wipe himself down and get rid of any dirt, sweat and grime that he may have on his body and in his hair.

After all, it wasn't everyday a king met his future queen face to face (however many questions he may have about how _that_ happened) and the man in question certainly didn't meet his queen looking and smelling like a pig. At least not if they had any common sense. Thank you very much.

So he cleaned himself off to the best of his ability, then grabbed another clothe and dried himself and his hair off and then went to find a nicer shirt to wear for when his queen awoke.

He knew it was silly, but he just couldn't help himself.

His current shirt was pit stained- among other things and he found the very idea of trying to woo such a lovely maiden in _that_ particular shirt positively wretched. So wretched in fact that he found the shirt that he had worn upon becoming king of Sindria.

A nice sapphire, elbow length wrap around shirt that belted around the left lower side of the shirt with small gold embroidery swirls around the collar and sleeves. It was a bit tight around his chest. But once he adjusted the belt a bit, fit him perfectly.

Next he trimmed an inch or so off of his unruly hair. And after cleaning up his mess, brushed and rebound it.

Now normally he wouldn't trim or cut his hair for anything or anyone. But this was his future queen dammit and he wasn't going to look like a ragamuffin! He was going to be as presentable as a king could and should be. He had too if he was going to impress her any.

Or at least that was the plan firmly affixed in his mind.

Until- he heard a soft moan from his as of yet- name unknown- queen and stopped what he had been doing or about to do, rather.

Which was unarm himself of any and all weapons that he carried on his person due to the fact that he was sure that his queen would be confused or perhaps a bit disoriented from her journey and the last thing he wanted was for her to become scared and manage to get something in her hands and try to attack him with it since he had been taught to never hold back.

Whether his opponent was a man or woman. Young or old.

It was part of the reason he still lived today. So when he suddenly found himself glancing over at his bed where his queen was sitting up with the thin linin blanket he used to keep warm on cool nights, clutched to her...mouthwateringly pink tipped breasts.

 _Oh god-_ he wanted nothing more than to suckle and fondle them and toy with them until she cried for mercy and he would then lower his face to between her creamy thighs and tongue fuck her senseless.

She just looked so- so beautiful. So decadent and sweet sitting on his bed, slowly rubbing the sleep from her eyes and being all unaware of everything. Like an armed to the teeth and then some man in the same room with her naked person.

And as much as he enjoyed seeing her all vulnerable and defenseless and such, he really needed to clue her in on the fact that she was no longer in her home and was thus- at present in the presence of a total stranger. Even if it meant that she might scream bloody murder, swoon, or attack him.

He stood frozen, oddly rooted in place where he stood- watching her as her hand finally fell away from her face and she took a moment to look around the room before noticing him and frowning even as he blushed and lifted a hand to give her an awkward finger wiggle of a greeting when she surprised him by slowly slipping from the bed, his thin blanket clutched to her breasts.

And awkwardly, on slightly unsteady legs, made her way over to him.

Her eyes foggy. Her expression slightly dazed as she looked up at his face before lifting a hand to touch him. The slight push of her palm against his tanned skin telling her that 'yes, he wasn't a dream.' or something to that effect causing her expression to change to one of shock as he brought a hand up to gently cup her cheek in his hand, his thumb running along the curve of her face.

"Y-You're real?" She finally stuttered when she found her voice making Sin smile a little before replying,

"I am." His words holding a hint of some sort of finality that caused her to begin to panic. Her eyes widened. Her breath came in quick, frantic little pants as her complexion paled and she began to slowly shake her head and back away from him.

Confused by her reaction, Sinbad tracked her movements, step for step just in case she decided to try running since she was still unclothed and running around naked- even in Sindria, was seen as an open invitation to a few tumbles in the sack.

 _What?_

He was a man and so were many of his soldiers and other subjects. And yes, they could often at times be pigs. It was part of the whole 'man' gene. Or at least that's what he believed anyways.

He found it a tad funny that these were the thoughts crossing his mind _now_ when his future queen stood before him utterly terrified. He should be soothing her or comforting her. Not tracking her around his room like the hungry predator he was probably coming across as.

"W-Where am I?" She finally asked as she looked around his room, obviously puzzled and scared and- He sighed heavily knowing that he had his work cut out for him and that he should start immediately, but was unsure with how to proceed when- across the room the door to his chambers opened and Ja'far peeked in.

"Sin. It's time to finish the paper work- _erk_!" The former assassin cut off suddenly as he was caught red faced, staring at Sin's future wife's nice curvy rear end a mere moment before she let out a loud, horrified shriek and- possibly due to the fact that he was nearest to her (damn Ja'far's hide) slapped him so hard that his teeth rattled in his skull and a few of his teeth cut the inside of his cheek drawing blood as he staggered to the side a bit.

Giving her enough room to maneuver herself around him and head straight for the door, where Ja'far stepped out of the way, his expression still stunned, and let her leave the safety of Sinbad's chambers before he could so much as order his friend to grab her.


	10. Chapter 10

_"Oh damn!"_ Sinbad practically snarled as he shot his bleeding long time friend and general, Ja'far a dark look as the man staggered a bit just inside the door way before catching himself and bringing his hand up to his mouth where his lip had been split open.

"Where did she go?" Sinbad asked as he finally managed to reach the door and peer through it, hoping against hope that his future wife's current state of undress might have stopped from going too far.

 _No such luck there_ , He thought as Ja'far growled out. "Oh, no. Go ahead and worry about you're whore. Honestly you would think after so many years with you I would come to expect this sort of behavior from you- But _noooo_ ," Ja'far griped on.

Not noticing that Sinbad's body had tensed up the moment he had referred to the woman as a whore and he was currently gripping one of the large heavy, doors so tightly in his hand that his knuckles were bloodless and white, just in an effort not to turn on the younger man and punch his lights out.

His mind awhirl with so many dark thoughts that it frightened him, but first and foremost was the thought of finding his future queen before something happened to her that he would never be able to forgive himself- or his people for.

(*********************************************************************************************************************************)

Meanwhile-

Mya was hopelessly lost.

So much so that with every step further she took, she began to panic even more than before and after a while became so engrossed in finding a way out of...where ever she was- that she didn't remember the fact that she was practically naked until she passed something that looked like a massive gold and jeweled mirror, and came to a stop so that she could use the blanket she had to wrap around her body in a weird parody of a toga. Taking as much great pains as she could to cover her ass, thighs and breasts to the best of her ability.

It wasn't enough, she knew, from just looking at it.

It didn't cover her body as it should have. And she couldn't pull on it otherwise the knots she had tied would come undone and then she'd be even more screwed.

And that was the absolute last thing that she needed since she had other things on her mind. Like where he fuck was she? How did she get there? Had she been kidnapped? Was this a human trafficking ring? Is that why she was naked? She was to be trained to be someone's sex slave and earn her right to wear clothing again?

Cause she had to say, the very thought of somehow managing to fall through a mirror wasn't in the least appealing to her. Maybe if she were 'Alice' and this was 'Wonderland' but somehow she doubted that.

So once she was done fooling with her blanket, she started moving again- somehow hoping that if she moved so far that she'd find a way home. Until then she would simply avoid people and- she slammed into something harder than brick and instantly fell back.

Landing partially on her side feeling as if the wind had just been knocked out of her as she turned her head and glared at the 'wall' and found two men in polished armor standing there staring down at her and felt herself start to hiccup as she began to panic again.

 _Oh dear god_ \- She thought as she took in the two.

"See." One of the men said as he pointed to her, "I told you someone unfamiliar was around." He continued on as she took a moment to study him and his... Good god was that man human? He was over twelve feet tall with a thickly muscled physique, a face that despite the terrible looking scar running from just under his right eye to his chin- was still handsome. But it was his eyes and hair that were truly and stunningly, unique.

Both were an almost turquoise blue with traces of aqua in them.

And his friend, while a great deal shorter- held an impressive presence himself, but not nearly as impressive as the giant as he studied her for a moment and replied, "Hn, so you did. I wonder where she came from?" He seemed to ask himself more than his friend as he squatted down before her and noted as much detail as he could.

The woman wasn't dressed in any traditional garb or dress for the women of Sindria, and he wondered if perhaps she was someone's mistress or lover since slaves weren't allowed. Sinbad would throw a fit if any of his people left the country and came back with a slave of any kind.

Especially so if said person lived and worked in the palace.

While it was true that Sin was a king, he was unique even among other royals due to how he ran things in his kingdom. For one, slavery wasn't allowed. In fact that had been among one of the first laws set into motion.

Slavery wasn't allowed.

However if a person wished to work for a living- they were paid. And they were paid well for their services, whatever they may be. End of discussion.

But this little one before him and Masura looked like a slave to him. And that meant that someone in the palace, under Sinbad's employ, had broken the rules. And that was unforgivable to him. So much so that it almost made him growl, however as his eyes took in the woman's face he seemed to realize that that wouldn't be such a good idea since she looked so terrified that she wasn't breathing right.

Automatically thinking that maybe his size might be intimidating her, he began to move back away from her and was surprised/shocked when tiny, delicate hands laid shaking against the skin of his forearms as she looked at him, her expression pleading for... _something_ that filled the large warrior with an unmistakable rage as she quietly started crying as he made the decision to take her to his family's private quarters for his wife and children to tend to her while he hunted down the person responsible for those tears.


	11. Chapter 11

Hinahoho was careful in his treatment of the girl that he and Masura had come across.

Even before he had decided to remove her from the hallways of the palace and hide her away in the company of his family. He had been so careful of her size, her fear, and her modesty all while planning out what he should do with her once she was dressed and the topic of her 'occupation' brought before his king.

He had at first thought of taking some time to get to know her and perhaps marrying her. It was after all acceptable for men to have more than one woman. But after several moments of weighing the pro's and con's- had decided against it since she would likely be torn to pieces by him if he ever attempted to bed her.

She was such a small and child-like thing that she kind of reminded him of his youngest, a girl that he had adopted as his daughter when her real family had been slain as a toddler.

Then the idea of perhaps adopting the exotic beauty sleeping so peacefully in his arms had struck him as a nice idea.

And with his king's help her past as a slave could all but be erased. He was a general after all, and royalty in his own right. A daughter of his- even an adopted one- would benefit greatly from just his name alone being attached to her own.

Plus if she ever found someone worth marrying, he could provide a hefty dowry of treasures ranging from fine bolts of velvet, satins and silks and exotic furs, to gold and silver and jewels for her and her new family to live on. And she would still be his 'daughter' so he'd continue to take care of her regardless just to make sure that she and her future children weren't mistreated in any way.

Now that he thought of it, wasn't it almost time for Masura and Ja'far to marry and settle down? They were at that age. Ya know, come to think of it- Ja'far was a tad bit past that age.

And if he took her as his wife, Hinahoho certainly wouldn't have to worry about her. The man would accidentally impregnate her the first time they were together and then have to conform his life to being a family man... Lord knew that their offspring would be adorable. Especially if they took after the mother.

Curiously, ever since he had picked the girl up- she'd been strangely quiet aside from the occasional hiccup or shiver, causing Hinahoho to use one hand to sweep her long silvery hair out of her face and found that she had curled up in the crook of his arm and cried herself to sleep.

 _Poor child, she must have been through a truly terrible ordeal._ He thought as he let her silken hair fall back into place and sighed when he caught Masura looking at him strangely. "What?" He asked in a rougher tone that he should have, the volume vibrating in his chest as the other general continued to stare at him strangely for a moment before saying,

"You're going to keep her, aren't you?" The Fanalis asked in a somewhat disbelieving tone.

"Maybe. Why?" Hinahoho replied curiously.

"It might cause you problems." Masura replied as he turned his head to look back in front of him just in time to notice that Hinahoho was trying to maneuver him into a wall as was his habit from time to time to keep the red head on his toes, and avoid running into the marble.

Hinahoho snickered at the smaller man for not paying attention, which was the wrong thing to do since at the moment his attention was on the girl safely tucked in his arms, sleeping. Thus keeping him from being able to do anything except crash to the floor when Masura picked up a table with a really heavy vase, tested it's weight for a moment with one arm and then threw it at him.

Hitting his fellow general in the back of the legs in mid step and sending the giant crashing to the stone floor with the (how did she manage to stay asleep through this debacle? Masura wondered as he continued to stare) still sleeping girl held up in the air, cradled in his large hands in an effort to keep her from being injured as Hinahoho shot the former gladiator a look that _absolutely_ _promised_ some serious pain later on.

Masura shrugged his broad shoulders and began walking again, pausing briefly to carefully step over the mess of the table and vase that they had both made as he shot a look at his friend that practically screamed, _Bring it on._

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Sinbad was beside himself as he ran down the halls of his palace, searching for his way ward Queen with Ja'far keeping pace easily with him. Not understanding what his king was so upset about. After all the woman was a whore, right? No king in his right mind would go nuts and try tearing his home apart to find a whore that had hidden herself from him.

Although the more he thought about the situation, the more he found it strange that a whore would run from the likes of Sinbad. The man was a known womanizer, yes. And everyone knew it, but he was also known to be a very generous lover even to women of ill repute.

So why run and hide?

Whore's were notorious for having little to no morals. Their job was to please men in any way that they desired using their bodies, and they were compensated for it handsomely. So when Sin finally stopped moving and absently reached out and placed his hand on Ja'far's shoulder- the younger man was about to ask if he had given up on his current fuck toy when he noticed that Sinbad's expression was... Devastated? Worried? Perhaps even fearful? As his king said, "Summon the generals. And my personal guard... We need to lock down the palace and it's grounds. No one comes in, no one leaves."

Frowning Ja'far was about to question him on his orders- usually Sin only reacted this way when foreign diplomats were loose in the palace. Princes and princesses, kings and- Ja'far's jaw suddenly went slack as he recalled something from one of Sinbad's old laws as king.

It was put into place so that if he should ever decide to marry and settle down, he would be able to pick and choose the person most suitable for him by having the woman put to sleep and undergoing an examination of her body. And being the king, Sinbad was one of the few people who could do the examination while the woman slept.

"Oh my god," He groaned out as he thought, _No wonder I got slapped when I just barged into Sinbad's room like that_. Especially if the examination had just taken place or was about to take place. Which explained a bit about his king's appearance. Either he had accepted the girl or...he had accepted the girl which meant that the woman he'd been calling a whore was his future Queen and- _"Oh my god!"_ He practically yelled this time as realization hit him hard.

Sinbad looked over his shoulder at him and felt a slight sliver of rage towards his friend. Why had he not called the other generals yet? Why was he just standing there looking ill and yelling?

 _Oh._ _That's right, I've never introduced my future bride to anyone_ (for a good reason) Still, he inwardly cringed as Ja'far finally looked at him. His green eyes accusing as his glare clashed with honey gold.


	12. Chapter 12

Sinbad backed away from his- beyond furious- subordinate with his hands held up, palm out in front of him in a placating gesture as Ja'far closed in on him. His emerald colored eyes had a vicious look to them as he bared his small white teeth as he activated his house hold vessel and got ready to pounce on the man and snarled, "Who. Was. That. Woman?" Not that the young man actually needed to ask Sinbad who the woman he had seen naked in his king's room was.

He was pretty sure that he already had a pretty good inkling of an idea who she was, though for his sanities sake he prayed he was mistaken.

But when had anything involving the moron he served ever been that damn easy? Never. That's when. Everywhere he went, Sinbad caused problems of one kind or another.

So naturally it was fair to assume that the fool had managed somehow to smuggle his future queen into Sindria- either by hook or crook, Sin never cared as long as nothing got in his way- and had been in the midst of conducting an examination on her and had interrupted the most important part...

The acceptance pledge, which would probably explain Sinbad's ceremonial clothing and his hair being trimmed and his most prized possession, the jeweled sword that had been given to his late father upon his return from the war after losing a leg while serving his country.

Sinbad's acceptance of the woman was to be finalized by Sinbad making a blood oath on his knees in front of the woman he was accepting into his life using the blade of his late father's sword to pledge his life, his honor, his protection, fidelity, and future to the woman as a sort of pre-wedding or hand fasting.

Which served as- not quite an engagement or betrothal, but more like a wedding before a more public one could be put together for the bride and groom.

Which meant that technically speaking, if the woman was who Ja'far believed her to be, _now_ , then she was already sort of more or less married to his king... _The moron._ Ja-far thought as his king finished backing himself into a corner, _Finally!_ Pinned down- Sinbad took a moment to give his panic free reign.

Between his queen mysteriously appearing, the acceptance ceremony, losing said queen in a palace of people who didn't know who the hell she was and would not hesitate to take full advantage of her lack of knowledge and understanding of how things worked in the palace, and Ja-far and his sudden temper tantrum... Well, Sin would be lying if he said he wasn't more than a tad bit worried and concerned.

Not just for himself but his queen as well.

Where ever she was.

(********************************************************************************************************************************)

The private living quarters that served as the home of Hinahoho's family were strangely empty as he pushed the large, heavy wooden doors open and peeked inside before slipping his large body through the opening that he'd made, and quietly closed the doors behind him before making his way across large plush carpets in vivid blue colors with fur lining.

His and his wife's bedroom was located off to the far left. Their walls embedded with gems, one from every dungon that Hinahoho had escorted Sinbad into as a young man. And floors were lined with trunks heavily laden full of jewels and treasures from the forests and the mountains and the sea surrounding Sindria.

There were also animal pelts that Hinahoho had brought back with him from hunting. The gem like scales of sea serpents the giant had slain. And an entire side of the bedroom was piled high with soft and lovely looking furs and silks and linen's and satin's.

All of which Hinahoho had bought with Sinbad's help. After all the family of a general couldn't run around in the palace in rags. No, they all needed to wear clothing best befitting of their station so as not to embarrass or bring shame upon him as one of the king's men both as a warrior _and_ a provider.

Sin knew that as a general, others would scrutinize not only him but his wife and children as well since all of them were well known through Sinbad and several other generals as well as Hinahoho himself. Which is why Sinbad made sure to remind him of every trip needed to be taken into the kingdom's market, and also why all of his children were being educated in various things by Sinbad's command-er request.

His young sons at the moment were being taught math, languages, writing ect. by Ja-far while his two daughters (yes, even his adopted one) were being taught the same things while also being taken aside and taught to do sewing, cooking, flower arranging ect. so that one day they may marry well. Whereas his son's would each inevitably learn sword fighting and hand to hand so that they could become soldiers later on down the line.

But hopefully that would not be for many years to come since his son's were only ten, seven and six years of age.

Carefully laying the still sleeping beauty in the crook of his arm down on the very plush and comfortable bed he and his wife of the past ten years shared, and he grabbed one of the linen sheets and a snowy white fur and covered the young woman so that she wouldn't take a chill since his living quarters was just a tad bit cooler than all the others in the palace and sat down on the edge of the bed to watch the little one for a little while.

His ocean colored eyes taking in how the girl looked against the aqua colored bed sheets and the huge mound of pillows and cushions. She looked so adorable curled up here. With her long pale hair and fair coloring...and her tiny and delicate build. It kind of reminded him of how much his wife and he had been trying for another child in recent months.

Since apparently five children just wasn't enough for either of them. And he had never been able to deny his beloved wife anything- however ever since they had began to try for another child, his wife's health had for some peculiar reason had began to decline. And while Hinahoho had seen Sinbad about perhaps bringing in better physicians to examine his wife and see if they could at least figure out why she was becoming ill- Sinbad had yet to find any physicians that were any better than the ones they already had residing in the palace.

Which was why he thought to perhaps take this little one as his second wife just a little while ago. He knew that it was a common enough practice among his tribe's men. Just like he knew his wife would not begrudge him another bride, not when she was often so ill that she could barely leave their bed. Nor would she hate him or hold a grudge if he were to have another child with the young woman.

It would be a way of giving his ailing wife another child for them to love while welcoming the young woman who birthed it into their family. He would be using the girl in a way, and yes, he would feel badly for it. But at least he could offer her the protection of his sword and give her a family and a comfortable life with little worries or woes.

And she nor any child she gave him would ever lack for affection. In fact he might be accused at some point or another in time of smothering them in affection.

Reaching out, Hinahoho smoothed some of the girl's pale silvery blond hair back from her face before then reaching up to unfasten the gold and blue topaz brooch that held the fur lined cape he always wore so that he could slip it from his massive shoulders and draped it over her and then stood up to secure the room until his families return so that he could return to his duties for the time being.

Glancing back at the girl one last time, he came to the conclusion that he'd have to speak to his wife about everything before making his intentions known to the girl. And if by some chance his wife asked him not to take the little one as a bride... Well, then maybe he'd run the idea of adopting the girl by his beloved instead.

(********************************************************************************************************************************)

Ja-far stood before five of the generals who served under Sinbad maliciously cracking his knuckles just so that he could see his king stiffen and squirm and hear him make little sounds of fright that under regular circumstances might have made the former assassin smirk evilly. Might, being the operative word here.

The young man had finally managed to get what information he could from Sinbad- though he hadn't come out of their little brawl totally unscathed. But the cuts and bruises were well worth it to know exactly what he and the others were up against.

So as soon as he had the information needed about the woman as well as a detailed description of her (after all, he couldn't exactly say that he'd seen anything in detail aside from her hiney and of course the palm that slapped the hell out of him) he then turned to Sinbad's personal guard and ordered them to lock down the palace.

Giving them explicit orders not to allow anyone in or out until the girl was found then sent them to do as they were bid.


	13. Chapter 13

"I can't believe Sinbad finally smuggled his chosen lady into the kingdom! Yamraiha and I have been dying to meet her! Do you think she's pretty? Oh! Do you think she's nice?" Pisti chattered away gleefully as she moved through the palace with Sharrkan and Spartos, checking various places that could be considered 'hiding' places.

"If she was chosen by Sin then she probably is-" Spartos said calmly while next to him Sharrkan scowled and made a funny irritated sound in the back of his throat.

"Hey, there's something I don't understand... If this woman is to one day be Sin's wife and our Queen- Why did she take off and hide somewhere?" Sharrkan finally voiced his thoughts on the subject. Making both Pisti and Sparto's sigh in irritation due to the fact that the reason behind their search would once again have to be explained.

Possibly in very small words spoken very slowly so as not to further confuse the stupid man with the short attention span.

"Like Ja-far explained before, he accidentally walked in on Sin concluding the physical exam and accidentally saw _stuff_. Thus embarrassing her." Pisti explained causing the swordsman to get a funny expression on his face as if he were trying to figure out just what sort of stuff Ja-far had been privy too.

The physical was usually conducted on the girl while she was naked so- Sharrkan snapped his fingers and laughed before saying, "That dumbass. If Sin wanted a little lovin he doesn't have to conduct a physical on a gal to get it. I can just imagine how things went down!" He laughed again the tried imitating Sin's voice.

"Okay time for you're special medicine." Then went on to try for a his own personal take on their queen. "Oh no! Will it hurt?" Then switched back over to Sin, "Baby it'll only hurt as much as you want it too." Switched again, "Oh my. Mmmmmm!" There was a smacking sound like wet kissing for a moment before the fool started laughing again at his joke.

Or at least he did until Pisti shot Spartos a look causing the young man to sigh tiredly as he reached up and smacked his fellow general in the back of the head as hard as he could and muttered, "Idiot pervert."

"I'm telling Ja-far." Pisti deadpanned.

"What?!" Sharrkan practically shouted in disbelief. He couldn't believe- well, yeah okay that was a bit of a stretch even for his imagination. He could totally believe his fellow generals would act so childish just over a simple joke. Although...now that he had the threat of Ja-far hanging over his head- not to mention any wrath that may rain down on his head from his king and some of the other generals by default- then maybe he really should learn to keep his mouth shut.

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Due to the trouble he had caused with his queen, Sinbad had been tied to a chair and left in the middle of his bedroom behind locked doors. Out of the way, so that Ja-far and the other generals could find their queen. But the palace was large.

Much larger than many royal palaces any of the generals had ever been in or seen and to make things even worse the layout of the palace was somewhat akin to a dungeon. The rooms sometimes were difficult to navigate due to the fact that one of their own, Yamraiha, the sorceress who lived in the palace and served as one of the eight generals that protected Sin and the kingdom where they all lived- sometimes used magic to remove rooms and walls from one place and place them in another.

Part of the reason for this was that often times Sin entertained guests that weren't trustworthy and more often than not, attempted to assassinate their king.

Which is partially why during the search of such rooms- it was necessary to separate oneself from the group. Which is exactly what Masrur had done since he was pretty sure that he knew where the girl was.

His queen.

She had appeared to be little more than a frightened child when he had first seen her. Though the cloth that she had been wrapped up in had left little to the imagination and had impressed upon him that she wasn't indeed a child, but a beautiful- and utterly scared young woman.

He didn't understand what his king saw in her, but then it wasn't for him to question Sinbad's choice in mate. He was sure that the man had confidence in his choice for _some_ yet unnamable reason.

So he would simply believe in his king and go fetch his future queen before anymore chaos occurred. And while he was at it, maybe he'd better give Hinahoho a heads up on what was going on before he heard it from someone else.


	14. Chapter 14

Mya was overly warm.

So much so that she had woken up mere moments ago and found herself covered by a large (the blasted thing looked tent sized, really) fur cape, and soft linen and sat up only to find herself- not in her actual bed at home like she'd initially hoped, but in the middle of a _massive_ bed that looked as if the frame was made out of carved ivory tusks/teeth (and or large bones of some kind?). On a mattress that was little more than an overly large pile of furs and linen's with pillows made of colorful silks and satins.

Shifting slightly, she pulled her knees up against her chest and looked around the foreign place that she'd found herself in. Taking note of various things- like the over abundance of animal furs, treasure chests, gems and jewels- silver and gold coins and gem encrusted trinkets that reminded her of every dragon story and movie she had ever seen or read. Making her more than just a tad bit nervous.

After all if she were in a place where dragon's were real- then she didn't wanna be anywhere near anything silver or gold in color since dragons were 'supposedly' notoriously violent towards any and all who touched their hoards.

Continuing to look around, she noted the color of the walls in the room, and the various semi precious gemstones embedded in them before moving on. Her eyes surveying the area until they landed on the things in the far corner.

Beautifully created bolts of silk and satin and linen.

Most were a pale pinkish/lavender. While others were white, aqua and topaz hues. All of which were meant for clothing, apparently.

Something that she was sorely lacking at this very moment and wished terribly to rectify sooner or later. However, no matter how much she wished she could just grab something and make herself an outfit- she didn't dare to touch anything present in the room since none of it belonged to her.

Sighing, she looked around the room one more time before coming to the conclusion that the room she was in was so disgustingly weird and beautiful- that she could feel the slight pressure of a headache just starting to form somewhere behind her eyes, and wished she could just shut off her mind for the time being.

She had no desire to become ill from a severe migraine while in strange and possibly dangerous territory. That and she'd like to have all of her senses about her if she was going to somehow find out where she was and how to return home.

And those men from before...

Who the hell were they? She wondered as she recalled bits and pieces from her encounters with them from before crying herself to sleep. She supposed that she would have to apologize to the two who had found her the next time she saw them- for being all hysterical and girly and stuff.

But the first guy, the one with the long dark blue hair and the warm golden amber eyes- He'd seemed so happy to see her. As if he knew her and vice versa. And she would admit, she did vaguely recall seeing him in her mirror one time. And she couldn't help but wonder if his sense of familiarity with her had somehow been connected to the mirror.

If she had been able to see him, then it was entirely possible that he'd been able to see her too right?

The throbbing in her head steadily got worse until she was forced to pinch the bridge of her nose and mutter, "Ow. My head hurts." And why wouldn't it hurt? When just trying to figure out the logic behind this weird parallel of the Twilight Zone that she had sort of stumbled into would cause many a man/woman to develop migraines of epic proportions.

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Hinahoho was half way back to where he and Masrur had parted ways when he saw the red haired man moving his way at a brisk (not quite running but at the same time not quite normal walking pace) and smiled in greeting and lifted a hand to wave.

Perhaps he should run his intentions towards the little one past the fanalis and get his friend's opinion on the matter before taking it before his king. "Masrur-" He started to state his thoughts about the girl they had found earlier when the smaller man grabbed him by his wrist and all but jerked him off of his feet and began to drag him behind him as he headed back the way Hinahoho had just come with a muttered,

"Where's the girl?"

Puzzled at the somewhat sense of urgency he got from his fellow general as he asked about the little one, Hinahoho regained his footing and fell into step beside the man who just released his wrist and kept on going. Not really bothering to wait for an answer from him since he could smell the girl's natural sweet scent and thanks to his inhuman sense of smell- could easily track it down to the giant's private quarters where he had no doubt left the girl to rest while he tried to figure out what to do with her.

They turned the corner together and continued in relative silence until finally they reached their destination, at which point the red head reached out to lay his hands on the door leading to his friend's personal domain- only to be stopped by a large hand snagging his wrist and squeezing in warning. Giving the red head pause as he turned his head to look at his friend.

Hinahoho wasn't a fool.

Far from it. The man could pick up on subtle changes in people's moods and personalities. And right now he was reading him like he would one of Sinbad's many, many books or scrolls and could sense that something was very amiss at present otherwise Masrur wouldn't be risking a fight with the giant by trying to enter his home without invitation.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Staring at his friend for a moment, and taking in his expression (thunder cloud) not a good look on him- and decided to go ahead and inform him of the fact that he had more or less entertained thoughts of keeping his future queen.


	15. Chapter 15

Hinahoho blinked, worked his mouth for a moment. Then finally managed to stammer out, "O-Our queen." Masrur nodded his head as he waited patiently for everything to completely sink in for his friend who just continued to stammer, "Our queen. You're sure? Sin said this himself?"

There was an underlying hint of panic to the giant's voice as he thought about the severe repercussions that would have taken place if he had gone ahead before his king to state his intentions towards the girl without knowing just _who_ she really was.

After all, Sinbad had made a law about coveting another man's woman. And while most laws didn't have such severe penalties- Coveting another man's woman was something that Sin had had some serious issues with among some of his people.

Men would wait until others had to leave to do trading with other countries and take other men's wives, they would seek them for bedmates (willing or not) and someone to do the women's work in their homes. They killed their children or even force them to live in the street and starve.

So Sin had taken steps to stop that from happening after the first few times he had been made aware of such happenings. And so the law was this- No man may covet another man's wife unless 1) The woman wishes to leave her husband and family. 2) Those who broke this rule, whether they were male or female were stripped of everything they owned except the clothes on their backs; and exiled from Sindria.

However in more extreme cases the people could be put to death.

And to Hinahoho's knowledge there had only been one or two very extreme cases thus far of people thinking that they were above the law.

Sin had had them executed. Not because he had wanted too- but in both cases the men who had taken another's woman- the women had suffered such horrible abuse at their hands that they had died. Leaving behind several young children that upon the mother's deaths, the men had begun going after in the most despicable way.

Which in itself was a reason enough for the men to have been put to death. After all, any man that would go after a child in such a way deserved whatever he got.

Still... To think that he'd been thinking of going before Sinbad to ask his permission and blessings to either marry his wife and queen or adopt her.

One would have caused him to commit a huge betrayal against his oldest friend and possibly lose his life because of it. While the other thing would have merely cost him several chests of ivory, gems, trinkets and jewels to serve as the girl's dowry.

Come to think of it- the whole adoption thing may be the best and safest route to go if he wanted to keep both his friend and his life.

"Hinahoho..."

"Okay," The giant said as he went and pushed the heavy doors to his rooms open. "First off, I need to find our queen something to wear aside from...what we found her in. Then you can escort her to Sin and the others while I gather some things to bring before our king."

Masrur lifted a brow at his friend. Wondering what his friend was thinking as he stepped into the rooms and walked off in the direction of his adopted daughter's room. No doubt to find their queen something worthy of her to wear.

Leaving Masrur to meander towards Hinahoho, and his wife's room where he could smell the girl.

He knew that she was awake before he even peeked into the room, he had been able to sense it from the peculiar prickling feeling he got at the nape of his neck where the hairs sort of stood up. Almost as if he'd been electrocuted by Sin while in one of his Djinn equips.

The feeling he got from the girl as she turned her head to look at him wasn't unpleasant.

Being zapped by Sin while his Djinn equip- now that was unpleasant.

He stared at her for a moment, noting the way she'd brought her legs up against her chest under the covers. And how her eyes (he hadn't really noticed them before) were the most peculiar and pretty shade of pale green. Not emerald like Ja'far's, but not quite moss colored either.

Her face was pretty. Her face was heart shaped with delicate features that bordered on exotic.

Combining her skin color and eye and hair color all together, she was definitely someone who would catch his king's eye. Though she appeared to be much younger than the females his king usually went for. He estimated that she was either still in her late teens or somewhere around twenty.

Still technically a child when compared to Sinbad, Hinahoho and himself. But that didn't really matter.

The girl shifted slightly on the bed, drawing his attention back to her as she slipped an arm out from under the cape that Hinahoho had left her covered in and gave him an awkward sort of wave. Her face pink with embarrassment. He supposed he'd feel the same way in her place.

Awkwardly, he lifted his hand and waved back in silent acknowledgement as Hinahoho suddenly brushed by him, startling him into jumping and saying defensively, "I wasn't doing anything." Causing the giant to pause three or four steps from him to slowly turn and look at him for a moment.

A small frown marring his face as he slowly said, "I know." Then walked over to the bed with three different colored dresses draped over one arm and a small chest of jewelry. He didn't think his adopted daughter would mind missing some dresses since he could easily get her some new ones.

Besides, she could no longer fit into them due to her latest growth spurt and with Sin's woman being so small- he figured that they should fit her without much difficulty. And as for the chest of jewels- they were trinkets that he'd bought but never had anyone to give them too.

So now seemed most appropriate since by the time he got his future daughter/queen dressed- she would look like the true vision he'd always had of his future queen.

The girl eyed him somewhat warily, but didn't move from her spot on his bed as he smiled at her and sat down on the edge of the mattress and began to carefully lay each thing he held, down so that she could see it all.

One of the dresses was soft pink with a floral design sewn into the collar, cuff of the sleeves and the hem, it had a matching off pink sash belt, and a lovely multi colored green, pale blue, and white wrap made out of the under belly of a sea serpent with satin lining.

Hinahoho took a moment to study the girl's fair coloring, the silvery blonde of her hair and even the color of her eyes before deciding that this dress would best suit her. And luckily for him, inside the chest was several matching pieces of silver with pearls and rose/silvery colored diamonds.

Opening the chest, he pulled out a small, and beautifully detailed six strand pearl and pink diamond necklace with a pendant almost the size of the girl's fist- of a pink diamond carved into the shape of a flower with three small pearl teardrop dangles.

A pair of matching earrings, two cuff bracelets, and a small crown like piece that would have to be woven into her hair and held in place by pearl and diamond encrusted combs.

Yes, with all of these, his future daughter/queen would far outshine even the most loveliest of visions.

Sinbad would be picking his jaw up off the floor every time he saw her.


	16. Chapter 16

**Merry Christmas my darlings!**

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Hinahoho smirked almost evilly at his king whom (was still, thanks entirely to Ja-far deciding he needed a longer time out- tied to the same chair he'd been tied too since the beginning of the search for the queen) was gaping at her in a very fool like fashion as she stood before him.

Her body just slightly wedged between Masrur and himself while the other generals all looked on from around Sinbad, wondering what was going to happen next.

"My king, we have found your queen." Masrur said with a slight bow as Pitsi reached out absently and forced Sinbad's jaw closed with an almost audible snap. Causing the man to give an awkward smile to his future bride and make a strange whimpering sound that almost had Hinahoho laughing out loud in amusement.

This was funny. So, so very funny.

Sin was known throughout the world as a suave, and bold womanizer without the slightest hint of awkwardness or shyness- yet here he was tied to a chair (come to think of it that may have been for his own safety seeing as if he'd been on his feet at the time, he'd have probably keeled over in a swoon) seated firmly before the woman he'd chosen as his bride- and suddenly he couldn't do anything but smile like a dope at her.

He just couldn't help it!

The clothing and jewels his bride had been given looked more than flattering on her.

 _She. Was. A. Vision._

Ja-far looked at Sin for a moment, waiting for him to say something and when he didn't stomped on his foot causing his king to jump almost out of his skin and _finally_ regain his ability to speak. "Ouch! What the devil are you doing? Trying to break my foot?" Sin snapped at his general as he hooked his injured foot around the leg of the chair to keep it from being stomped on again.

Ja-far merely gave him a serene smile and replied, "If I had wanted to break it, it would be broken. Now stop being rude to your woman."

Sin opened his mouth to snap at him again, but stopped himself as he glanced towards his bride. She looked puzzled with a fair hint of confused. Don't get him wrong it was an adorable look- but he wasn't terribly sure that he altogether liked seeing his bride in such a state of confusion and puzzlement.

It meant that she didn't understand why she was here when he had believed that she would know.

Come to think of it, they had actually never met before in person- so he had no idea what had given him the strange impression that she would know _why_ she had suddenly appeared in his room. Much less who he was without a proper introduction.

"Right. Sorry m'lady, my name is Sinbad. I am the king of the nation that you have suddenly found yourself in. And the people around us are my close friends and generals-" The girl took a small step back, her expression going from puzzled/confusion to one of almost pure panic. And Sinbad truly believed that she might have tried to run again if not for Masrur and Hinahoho, blocking her way. Even so Sin wasn't deterred in the least and continued speaking. "If I may be so bold, m'lady, what is you're name?"

She remained quiet, her expression still panicked while Sin and his generals waited patiently for her to reply.

Mya was reeling, her mind unable to truly understand just what the hell the guy (Sinbad?) was saying. All she knew was that she managed to pick out key words like, 'king' and 'queen' as well as 'nation' and felt her anxiety spike again like it had when she had first woken up here.

Several minutes passed, and Sinbad's smile faltered a bit as she stared at him blankly. _Was she alright?_ He wondered as he jumped himself and the chair he was tied too closer to her and stopped when she recoiled a little bit and stepped back until her back was pressed flush against Masrur's front. Her eyes wide, and her expression was panic stricken.

Causing Sinbad to frown a moment before Hinahoho moved forward a slight half a step and placed himself between him and his future wife and said sagely, "My king, if I may- I with to discuss something with you before these witnesses while," He turned his head a bit and whispered something to Masrur that had the man nodding and moving away from the girl for several moments so that he could fetch her a chair to sit in since the poor thing looked like she was either going to attempt to run again or flat out faint where she stood. "Our queen sits and takes a few moments to let you're intentions sink in. After all, it isn't everyday a maiden becomes a queen to a king like yourself."

Sin was quiet for a moment as he assessed his friend, his mind wandering back and forth between his bride's peculiar reaction to everything (him included) and Hinahoho's words as he watched Masrur seat his queen and then take up a protective position just barely a step behind her chair as he finally said,

"Very well. What is it that you would like to discuss with you're king?"

Hinahoho smiled and bowed to him respectfully and then stated, "I wish to adopt our future queen, chosen bride of my friend and king, into my family as one of my children." Behind him the girl's eyes widened a bit as she stiffened in her chair, her spine going ram rod straight as she looked between the men with a sudden look of total outrage on her pretty face causing all of the generals to step back away from their king and queen and Hinahoho as several of them thought, _Idiots_ , and _There's going to be some serious blood shed here in just another few seconds._


	17. Chapter 17

Later that evening-

Mya stood within the confines of her new...uh...fortress of solitude/bedroom? Her mind still reeling from the day's earlier events. Honestly. Kings? Queens? Royal weddings from the ancient middle ages? It was all- all so surreal.

 _Oh_ \- and lets not for get her being adopted by the blue haired giant barbarian who wanted her to call him 'father'. And the little melt down she had had causing her to grab the other occupant in the room with her, and basically try her hand at a rather lame kidnapping which had basically led to her current predicament of being trapped in her new bedroom.

In some foreign palace, far, far away.

With the 'king and his people camping outside of her door occasionally trying to coax her out.

Huffing a little as she stared out of the large stone window, out at the sunset while her new- and this was just one of the _really_ galling parts of her day- her prisoner (*cough* personally appointed babysitter *cough*).

The tall redheaded badass babe with the ripped body of a bodybuilder and the white linen skirt-thingy that reminded her of the Scottish, wearing his polished golden gladiator armor, and standing several feet behind her with his arms crossed- looking as intimidating as hell. While silently observing her ever move as she chewed her bottom lip and hugged herself against the startling, and sudden gust of wind that just blew through the window.

Causing her (now) loose hair to whip around her face and shoulders as a chill to shoot down her spine before the man's hand clamped down on one of her arms and quickly drew her away from the window while muttering in a soft tone, "You shouldn't stand there when the wind picks up. You'll take a chill and become sick."

Causing Mya to let out a small hysterical sounding giggle that had the man glancing down at the top of her head in concern. Just who was this man? Her mom?

No, no, no- that wasn't right.

Her mom, much like her dad and twin brothers; were all dead.

Had been since a year in a half before her high school graduation. Leaving her elderly grandfather to try and raise her and give her a semi normal and stable environment so that she could finish school and even go on to collage if she wished.

She'd had the money too after hearing that her parents had provided her a substantial amount to live on plus go to school with if she so wished. And she had been grateful. Truly.

Her late grandfather had been a war veteran.

A survivor of Pearl Harbor, and though he had been close to his ninties- the man's mind had remained sharp through the difficult years since his wife's death at seventy seven. And her presence in his home, though often times difficult on him due to his age, had given him something to look forward too every day up until the end.

She had been able to go to collage for two years before his health had declined so badly that she had had to return and take care of him.

Not that she had minded. He was blood after all, and she was all he had left in the world and vice versa. So after dropping out of collage to care for him she had used most of the money left to her by her late parents to pay his hospital bills, medications, foods for special diets that the doctors had suggested might help him keep his strength up.

She's done everything she had been told and then some to care for him, and in the end it hadn't mattered all that much. He had still died. Logically she had known it would happen eventually, she just hadn't been ready to lose him quite so soon.

She was just happy that he'd gone peacefully in his sleep. During nap time of all things.

But then she wasn't that surprised, after all, the man had loved his naps almost as much as Garfield the cat. And after that she'd found herself alone again, only with lesser means to provide for herself, a house that was over forty years old (yet somehow still in good condition) three acres of _beautiful_ land with flowers, with some woods and a nice creek running through it.

And all the problems that came with it. The bad neighbors, a mortgage, land taxes... All of which had basically taken up what little funds she'd had left. Leaving her to drift from one job to another- She felt something wrap around her shoulders, jarring her out of her thoughts so that she could look up at her companion as he wrapped her in a blanket of some kind to help keep her warm in the drafty room.

"There." He said as he patted her slender shoulders, the delicate feel of her bones through her clothing and skin not going unnoticed by him as he frowned a bit, his ruby colored eyes looking her over from head to toe in a slightly calculating manner.

Though she appeared completely healthy to him, she was in need food. And a lot of it to put some meat on her bones. Come to think of it...

While she had been lost in thought someone had delivered two trays loaded down with various foods to the room that he had accepted on her behalf knowing that it would distress his king and the others if she stared to death out of sheer stubbornness. Or fear.

He knew she still feared them, he could smell the coppery tang of it in his nose.

Exhaling softly, Masrur asked her again in an effort to glean some information from his future queen, "What is your name? Can you tell me something about yourself?" As he moved away from her and walked over to where he had set both trays of food and picked up a plate and began to systematically go through what had been brought while keeping his ears open for any reply she may feel like giving him.

If she finally decided to give him one at all.

He'd been trying to gather information on her all day, but she was proving to be a rather stubborn person for someone of her gender.

Taking a moment or so to occupy himself by going over the contents of her plate (pheasant, cheese, fresh bread, grapes, a few slices of pear, some strawberries) and once he was satisfied that she would have enough to eat- he then picked up one of the cups that had been sent with the rest of the stuff and grabbed the heavy pitcher of wine sitting off to the right of the rest of the stuff. And poured some into the cup, and then turned to hand them to her when he noticed that she had seated herself in a large, plush cushioned wing back chair and had her head in her hands with her expression hidden by both her hair and her arms.

"Tell me your name." He said again, hoping that maybe she'd finally cave and tell him something. She dropped her hands from her head and let them fall to rest in her lap and gave him a reluctant look before finally doing as he had asked.

"Mya. My name is Mya." She said in a tired tone as he moved to kneel in front of her and carefully placed her plate in her lap and then set her wine down next to him and gave her a faint smile before introducing himself to her again since he doubted that she had been paying attention earlier when he had introduced himself.

Earning a tight lipped smile from her as she picked up the bread from her plate and ripped it in half and held part of it out to him. Causing him to blink in surprise.

Mostly because people didn't generally to bother feeding fanalis from their hands. They were often far too concerned with the fact that they could wind up losing a hand or arm to even try.

So naturally- he hesitated to take what was offered.

Not just because she was trying to feed him from her hand, but because he knew she probably could use the food far more than he at this very moment.

Still...his lady was persistent. Refusing to back down or move her hand away until he finally, tentatively reached out and took the piece of food from her. Unsure of what would happen now as he sat at her feet and began to slowly eat.


	18. Chapter 18

His lady didn't eat much.

Much to Masru's chargin, the woman his king had chosen as his life mate was more concerned with making sure that he was well fed and had given him a majority of her food before he had even realized what she had done. So now here he sat, comfortably full despite his best and most valiant efforts to refuse the food that his queen had offered to him- reclining just a bit against the small table beside her chair, his scarlet colored eyes watching her thoughtfully as she finished up what was left of her meal before carefully setting the plate aside.

Just above his head, next to the cup of wine that he had poured for her. Which still remained untouched as he watched her absently lick her fingertips to clean them of some of the juices the fruits she had just finished eating had left behind.

Making him inwardly smile at the action.

It was so un lady like and unconventional for someone with good breeding. It was an adorable trait... He loved it. Partially because he knew it would drive his king mad with lust and partially because Ja'far would hate it and be driven mad with the need to break her of the habit.

Something that the fanilis doubted would actually happen. But one never knew with females. Most of them were so easily broken that it was just pathetic. But something in him- his deepest of primal instincts told him that this would not be the case with his queen.

"Did you have enough to eat?" His queen's soft and somewhat concerned voice cut through his thoughts like a knife, bringing him back to the present. Causing him to blink for a moment before nodding his head in confirmation.

Yes, he had indeed had enough to eat. Though he still worried about her lack of appetite at the moment. But then he supposed that in her place he'd feel more than a little too out of sorts to bother with food too.

The two sat in silence for several moments before he decided to try and gather even more information about her. "Tell me something about yourself."

She glanced at him, her expression questioning. As if she didn't know what he wanted to know or hear.

So he clarified, "What was you're childhood like? You're family? Did you have many friends? You seem very well educated for a woman-" It wasn't an insult. Not even close. Masrur knew more than anyone that as a Queen, Mya _should_ be well educated to help Sinbad rule his kingdom well. "What sort of education did you have?"

All of these things were something that helped shape her as a person and would help Sinbad and the rest of the generals better know her.

She frowned at him for a moment before sighing, her eyes closing for a moment before opening again and taking on a glazed look. "I guess you could say that I was a scholar for most of my childhood. I was always reading, studying complicated mathematics, learning about ancient history and science. I had little time for friends. In fact to my knowledge I've never had any to speak of."

The quiet admission made Masrur's chest ache sharply in the vicinity of his heart.

Every child should have friends. Even he had had them growing up. Though he had had to fight for the privilege of having them and suffered many wounds- he was glad that he had had the courage to fight for Sinbad and the others. If he hadn't, he would have continued to live a miserable existence as a gladiator up until he was either killed in the ring or his body suffered so many wounds that he just withered away and died.

"I had two twin brothers. My mother and father, and my studies. And for a while...that was simply all that I had needed. And then I turned sixteen, I was graduating at the top of my class in just a year in a half when my family was killed in a freak accident around a construction site."

He stared at her for a moment, wondering how exactly one could have been killed in an construction accident since such a thing was practically unheard of.

Injuries weren't. But death was.

She must have known what he was thinking because she quietly got to her feet and began to walk around in a restless manner as she told him. "It was the materials used at the site. They were too heavy and weren't properly secured in place. They fell and crushed my mom and dad and both of my brothers to death." He took a shakey breath as he imagined such a thing happening and made a mental note to tell Sin to never allow her near such work sites since it would call up bad memories of her families deaths.

And then he made another mental note to tell Sin to stay the hell away from such sites as well. He didn't like the thought of Sin suffering such a fate because the man _was_ and very often _could_ be- a pain in the ass sometimes.

"After that I was taken in by my grandfather. He was a war veteran. And my late grandmother had worked in the medical field during the war which is how the two met- but I never really knew her because she died in her seventies. And so when I decided to give up my studies due to his age and health, I did so. So that I could stay home and care for him. He died about a year ago, in his sleep, at the ripe old age of ninety something. Leaving me with my inheritance from my parents as well as him. Aside from that- there's nothing else to speak of."

Masrur remained silent for several moments as e absorbed all of the information that she had just given him when she finally said in an somewhat absent tone, "Sorry, I forgot to tell you about my late grandmother. She served during the war as well. In fact it was how my grandfather met her. He'd been wounded and she healed him. When she died, she left a lot of notes and medical texts behind- I read them a lot after I quite school to take care of my grandfather. In fact I think that what I learned from the books and notes probably helped me keep my grandpa alive for a bit longer than he was meant to be... _Now_ I've told you pretty much everything."

Blinking Masrur slowly closed his eyes as he tried to imagine what her life had been like as a child all the way up until now. And all his mind seemed able to focus on was how lonely it had seemed. But even so, his lady understood responsibility. And pain and the overwhelming loneliness that had seemed to come with those things.

So in his mind it was a good thing that Sinbad had chosen her.

Because between his king and the other generals- his lady would never be lonely again.


	19. Chapter 19

**Wow- a hundred and two reviews. I'm shocked...**

 **Happy. But still shocked.**

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Mya had been soundly sleeping for an hour or more when the door to the room opened and Sinbad walked in and paused for a moment upon seeing Masrur- alive and well- and his queen, sleeping soundly. Curled up on the bed in the room with a blanket carefully tucked up around her slender shoulders.

Sinbad took in the girl's exhausted appearance for a moment and felt his heart ache at the sight. No woman as lovely as his queen should ever be feel so exhausted.

Glancing back at Masrur as he motioned for the man to move back a bit so that he could take his woman and move her to the queen's chamber's that he'd had prepared for her for several months now as he asked the fanalis in a soft tone so that he wouldn't wake the girl as he gathered her small body up in his arms, "Are you well?"

Earning a silent nod from the man. As was customary for him.

"Sin. I have information to report to you, on my lady." Masrur said after a moment or so. His voice a low rumble as his red eyes glanced at the sleeping woman in his king's arms.

Sinbad nodded his head in understanding as he shifted his woman in his arms just enough so that he could press his lips against her forehead as he subtly nodded his head to let the man know that he'd hear him out once his queen was finally placed where she truly belonged.

Once that was done and Sinbad had taken a moment or so to carefully see to his woman's comfort- he leaned over her and nuzzled the curve of her jaw before placing a chaste kiss on her cheek. And then removed himself from the queen's chambers and paused just outside of the room long enough to post several guards to protect her while she slept or until his return.

Walking down the long hall from his queen's chamber, Sinbad was met half way to his next destination by all of his generals. All of whom fell into step beside and behind their king as he made his way to his personal study where he would spend the next while listening to Masrur's report on his Queen.

(**************************************************************************************************************)

Upon entering the darkened study, Sin whispered a command and coupled it with some of his rukh to light the torches and candles scattered about the room automatically engulfing it in enough light for him to hold his meeting with Masrur and the rest of his generals.

Taking a seat behind his desk with Ja'far quickly taking his place by his right side, Sin laced his fingers and waited on Masrur to speak. Yet grew a tad bit impatient when the fanalis didn't speak at first.

"Masrur- Please report." Sinbad said in a slightly bored tone.

The fanalis nodded his head and began to speak at his king's prompting, "The name of our queen is Mya," Sin perked up a bit in his seat upon hearing his woman's name for the first time. His honey gold eyes sparkling with interest. "She had two younger twin brothers and a mother and father- all of whom have been deceased for almost ten years. I say almost ten as just a rough guess since she was still a child when they perished in an accident where they were crushed to death by heavy metals and stones used at a construction site."

"She spent most of her childhood as a scholar. Studying. Rarely taking time out or venturing from her room for anything be it food, or simply rest. She chose to forgo them so that she could make her family proud. She's..." Masrur hesitated for a moment or so as he thought back to his lady's conversation with him. "She's never had friends or true companionship of any kind outside of her blood kin. She was too busy with her studies."

"She's educated then. That's good to know. Having to teach her how to read and write alone would have caused my hair to fall out."Ja'far said, obviously still feeling a bit sore about Sinbad's upcoming wedding. After all, seeing to Sinbad was tiring enough. But now seeing to him and his wife... It was like he'd be babysitting all over again.

And he _hated_ it.

Masrur shook his head at his young friend's assumptions. He doubted that Mya would appreciate Ja'far treating her like a fool when it was entirely possible that she was more highly educated than he. "She isn't just educated my friend. She told me a little bit of what she knew. Ancient history, science, complicated mathematics, reading... She may very well be more highly educated than anyone in Sindria. Sinbad included."

"Go on Masrur." Sinbad said, the wheels in his mind turning as fast as possible. Was it normal of a man to feel such a surge of pride in his chosen mate just for being educated? He wondered to himself as Masrur continued speaking about the details of his woman's life.

Going on to speak of how she had told him about being taken in by her elderly grandfather. Living in the country. The quiet and isolation. Continuing her studies before his health had faltered and she had been forced to end her work as a scholar to come home and care for him.

He told them of how she had come upon her late grandmother's medical texts and had tried to use some of the knowledge within them to help ease her grandfather and keep him alive for as long as she had been able.

He told them that she had tried so, so very hard. But her grandfather inevitably had slipped away from her in his sleep. Dying at the ripe old age of ninety something years old. Leaving her with the inheritance of medical texts, cures, and other things.

And after Masrur finished up his report by telling Sinbad that his queen had been planning to continue to learn medicine and healing so that she could help others- Sin, and the rest of his generals were greatly impressed by their future queen and her ambitions.


	20. Chapter 20

_A scholar and a healer,_ Sinbad thought to himself in utter astonishment. His woman and future queen was both a scholar _and_ a healer! How amazing _. And incredibly rare too._ He thought as he walked out of his study after finally bidding his generals a goodnight, and slowly made his way back to Mya's rooms so that he could sleep beside her and get her used to his presence since tomorrow morning would officially begin his courtship of her.

Reaching queen's rooms, he glanced over at the guards posted there to make sure that they were wide awake. After all it wouldn't do for his men to be found slacking off when they had a job to do. At least not until he could assign a few bodyguards to keep an eye on his woman twenty four/seven.

He nodded to the guards as he slowly pushed open one of the heavy doors just enough for him to slip through and then closed it behind him. And stood there for a moment with his back pressed against the door, slowly letting his honey gold eyes adjust to the pale, pale moonlight streaming in through the window of the room.

Barely lighting it.

Yet once his eyes adjusted he could make out everything from the intricate furniture's, to the colors of the silks used for the pillows, bedding, the lounge chair, the layers of curtains hanging over the bed, the seven different large chests placed around the room filled with things for Mya to go through- one could say that the chests contained her bride price. The large white marble stone fireplace in the far corner, to the small tables, and book shelves and small carpeted and cushioned area on the floor that was meant to be used for lounging, working, sewing and a few other things.

He had carefully selected every piece of furniture placed within the room to appeal to her feminine side.

Much like the items he'd carefully selected from his personal treasury. The gems and jewels, and expensive silk and satin dresses and gowns he had felt would flatter her person the most and make her appear even more lovely than she already was.

The fragrant perfumes and bath salts and exotic body oils meant to keep her skin soft and wonderfully scented.

He had taken such meticulous care in picking everything, creating a space for her that he had believed she would appreciate and even feel comfortable in. And after hearing everything Masrur had told him and the others- he felt that perhaps it would have been a little bit better to put off decorating the queens chambers until he had at least had a fair idea of what would please her.

He sighed as he finally moved away from the door and cautiously made his way across the room to the bed. Slipping his formal vest and shirt off as he went. Letting his clothes drop onto the nearest table or chair- he didn't really care which, his attention was solely on the small figure curled up asleep under the sheets.

Mya- for lack of a better word- looked in his eyes, otherworldly.

She was just so sweet and temptingly innocent looking that he could barely stand it. He sort of felt like Hinahoho had when his fist child had been born.

The man had been completely insufferable. Always daydreaming, and randomly disappearing to go spend time with his wife and child.

Not that Sinbad could blame him any since he knew the importance of family.

Besides, as soon as he and Mya began breeding their own offspring- he'd be ditching his duties and paperwork left and right in lieu of more pleasant things. Like cuddling. With Mya or their offspring or even both at the same time. He didn't care. Not as long as he got to cuddle at some point.

Speaking of- Sin slowly lowered himself onto the bed next to Mya, careful to stay on top of the covers since he wouldn't have anyone accusing him of doing 'weird' things to his woman while she slept unawares. No. He'd much rather do things to her while she was wide awake and knew what was being done.

Perhaps even actively participating.

Yeah, he'd like that. He just hoped that she would too. In the mean time he would have to simply content himself with the small phases of his courtship of her. Getting her used to his presence and getting to know her as a person. Sleeping beside her tonight shouldn't bother her overly much since he'd be gone by the time the sun rose.

He had much to do tomorrow when he awoke. Formally introducing two or more of his generals to be her personal body guards was among one of the first things he must do. And already he was somewhat conflicted.

Hinahoho would wish to be one of the guards- as her adopted father it was his right to stay by her side and protect her until she married Sin.

He also had the strange feeling that Masrur wished to be one of her personal guards. And if so- he wondered what could have sparked such a peculiar change in the usually stoic man's behavior. Had something happened between his woman and his old friend earlier in the evening? Perhaps when they had been alone?

He knew that Masrur was like most fanilis- ruled by both desire and instinct. The only issue here was, Sinbad didn't know which could be driving the man this time. But he did know one thing, he trusted Masrur. And knew he would never betray him.

And as for the third person... He wanted to go with Ja'far since the young man held certain knowledge of assassination techniques as well as other things, such as healing. In fact he felt that having his young worry wort friend would be a great asset to his woman.

Sighing softly so as not to disturb Mya's rest, he shifted so that he laid on his side facing her. His body blocking out the moonlight so that he appeared as if he were part of the shadows in the room. His eyes studying her as she slept.

There was so much to do...and yet, so little time to do it in. He thought to himself as he finally managed to close his eyes and began to doze. He would have to sleep light from now on. Just in case Mya got into trouble somehow.


	21. Chapter 21

Fortunately- or rather, _unfortunately_ \- however one wished to put it, Mya didn't awaken only to get herself into trouble. Sinbad on the other hand, wasn't quite so lucky. He'd accidentally slept in. Whether the cause was from exhaustion or something else entirely he couldn't say.

But waking up to find Ja'far laying sound asleep next to him certainly had him jumping to get up out of the bed and get away from the younger man while he could since the blond absolutely _hated_ to be disturbed when he was resting. And had the habit of using some of his knowledge as a former assassin to make whoever did disturb him pay for their transgression.

Which begged the question, _Where was Mya? And just how the hell had Ja'far wound up in bed next to him?_ Surely she hadn't woken up in the middle of the night, planted his friend in bed to take her place and run away.

Had she?

Moving as quickly as he could, Sinbad collected his clothing and rebound his long hair before escaping the room as silently and carefully as he could so that he could go search for his queen.

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Hinahoho and Masrur sat quietly in the kitchen watching Mya like they had since she had snuck out of her bedroom before dawn this morning, as she went about fixing several various dishes of food ranging from a wonderful smelling vegetable soup with cut up carrots, tomato's, potato's, pea's with basil and a touch of salt and pepper- to several nice home made breads that the two had been allowed to taste.

Several (eight or more) pheasants that Masrur had gone out this morning and hunted down and killed, gutted and plucked so that they could be cooked without little bother. Four plump rabbits (also skinned, gutted and field dressed) where as Hinahoho had gone out first thing this morning with his son and caught a fish nearly as large as his torso that he had brought back (it too was also cleaned, descaled and gutted) for either breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

He didn't care which as long as he got to eat some of it.

Where as his young son had returned to the palace with his own unique catch to be used for food. Shell fish. Clams to be exact. An entire large bucket full of them that Mya was currently shucking of their shells and setting the eatable pieces aside.

For what, they had no idea. But it was obvious to the two that she knew what she was doing from the way she handled the foods. Once she felt she had enough set aside, she then grabbed another pot to make some clam chowder, and then grabbed another pan to use to cook the clams before she could add them to the chowder once she had everything going pretty good.

"What are you making now?" Hinahoho asked curiously as he watched his adopted daughter work on cleaning some extra potato's and carrots and peas.

"Clam chowder," She replied before asking them. "Is there some more milk here that I can use? I think I may have used it all on the bread."

"I'll get it." Masrur said as he got to his feet and absently walked to the storage closet that the cooks used to store various things and found several large clay jugs of milk and then returned to the door and poked his head out so that he could ask her how much she needed.

Mya told him that she needed enough to fill the copper pot on the stove at least part of the way, making then fanlis nod in understanding while she finished cutting up the vegetables and placed them in the pot with some salt and pepper. And then found an onion and absently began to work on peeling, washing and cutting some of it up so that she could add it to the pot too as Masrur brought the large jug out of the storage closet and pored the milk into the pot so that she could start cooking everything.

It took a little bit of doing on Mya's part, but by the time she was done- there was enough food for an small army to eat. At which point Masrur, unable to stand the quiet anymore finally asked her, "Did you cook meals like this for you're grandfather?"

Mya glanced at the red eyed man in the polished gold colored armor with a thoughtful expression on her pretty face as she grabbed them a couple of plates and placed some pheasant and rabbit meat on each plate along with two medium sized pieces of bread before grabbing two bowels and then saying, "No. He wasn't well enough to eat such things. But from time to time- when my parents and siblings were still alive- we would have fish fries, and picnics. Usually for special occasions like birthdays or anniversaries. It was one of the few times I can recall everyone ever spending time together as a family. Now- vegetable or clam chowder?"

"Vegetable." Masrur said, feeling a mite curious on how the soup had turned out. It smelled nice enough, but he couldn't help but wonder what it tasted like.

"Clam." Hinahoho said with a grin, also curious about how the soup had turned out. If it was good then Sin should consider himself a lucky, _lucky_ man to know that not only was his adopted daughter a scholar and a healer but a good cook as well.

She fixed both of them their dishes and then set them down in front of them and looked around for eating utensil's for a moment before turning back to the two men and found that they had somehow magically managed to get some forks, knives and spoons- all without moving an inch from where they sat causing her to put her hands on her hips and glare at them in vexation as they dug into their food.

And both were pleasantly surprised by how good everything tasted. It would appear that their Queen was a lady of many talents.

"Well guys, how's the food?"

Hinahoho just gave her a goofy grin as he finished off his last bit of bread and meat while Masrur started purring like an overly large cat in appreciation as he polished off what was left of his own meal. Causing Mya to smirk at them.

It would seem that her two shadow's were well and content with her cooking.

That was good.

Now all she had to do was feed everyone else she had run into yesterday and hope that it would be enough to occupy them so that they would leave her alone. After all, she wanted to have a good long look around this place to see if there was any way for her to get home.


	22. Chapter 22

After searching various places for Mya, Sinbad was getting frustrated. Which was something that didn't happen often given his normally easy going and laid back personality.

However after waking with Ja'far in bed sleeping next to him (he still had no idea how the hell that had happened, but there was only one person he knew of who moved so silently that they could drag the blond from his own room and place him somewhere else. And his name was going to be chopped liver once Sin got ahold of him)- and finding his woman missing- and spending the past two or so hours searching high and low for the blasted woman...

He was about ready to shut down the palace again and go ahead and begin to rip his hair out just to alleviate some of his stress until Mya was found- when he came across the kitchen.

Which was one of the very, _very_ few rooms that he had yet to look for his woman in. But given the fact that she had the royal status as his bride and Queen, he hadn't thought to go there first and look for her because it honestly hadn't occurred to him that she might find her current situation 'undesirable' and perhaps found some strange comfort from menial tasks that kept her mind occupied.

So when he found her in the kitchen with Masrur (he whom shall die by throttling...) and Hinahoho (he who shall, uh...uhhhh... Okay- to his knowledge Hinahoho hadn't done anything to upset him. So he was safe. For now.) sitting and eating foods that his woman had spent a great deal of time preparing- well, Sin felt more than just a tad bit of relief in the knowledge that she hadn't managed to run screaming from the palace.

And he also felt...nearly uncontrollable rage in the fact that she was in his kitchen.

Cooking like a common woman.

Despite the fact that he knew that that may very well have been what she used to be before coming to his kingdom. And the fact that she seemed so comfortable slaving away- wasting her precious time feeding men who were more than capable of feeding themselves- well, it was tad bit upsetting to him. He knew that it shouldn't be, if she found comfort in the actions and yet- he couldn't help feeling what he was feeling.

He was supposed to have her undivided attention for the next three months so that he could complete his courtship of her. Which meant that she was supposed to _stay. right. by. his. side!_

Not off god knew where cavorting with his generals or anyone else she happened across.

Entering the kitchen, Sin leaned his shoulder up against the frame, just inside the doorway and watched his Queen serve his men as he noted the somewhat shy smile she gave the two while they ate what she had placed in front of them. And had to forcibly stop himself from ruining what little bit of comfort she seemed to have gained in the room by calling out to his men.

And instead simply observed the interactions of the three in silence for the time being knowing that someone was bound to notice him soon enough.

"The soup was wonderful, my lady. As were the bread and meats," Hinahoho said before a thoughtful expression crossed his face and he asked almost tentatively, "If I may, my lady, would it be alright if I ask for some of the clam chowder, bread and meat to be set aside for my family? My wife usually does the cooking...but she's been very ill of late and is far too weak to be out of bed for extended periods of time."

Mya looked at the blue haired man and her thoughts instantly shifted from cook to physician.

"Has she been examined by any doctors?"

Hinahoho blinked at the question and was about to reply when Sin finally got tired of being invisible and stepped a bit further into the room and replied, "Every renouned healer I could think of and get to come here- has seen my friend's wife. Yet none of them were able to be of help to her." His voice drawing the attention of the three who looked at him with a peculiar mix of emotions that ranged from, _'Oh shit'_ to _'Crap, I'm dead. Been nice knowing ya'_ and _'Hello, when did you get here'._

Sin didn't care much for two of the expressions, one of which was coming from Mya. Where as the other was coming from his red haired general. Obviously having realized just how much trouble he was in for placing Ja'far in bed with him. Where as Hinahoho was always glad to see him.

 _Always._

The man was like a puppy. Not that Sin minded any, he was always happy to see the giant too.

"What are her symptom's?" Mya asked curiously as she began to put aside a portion of the food that she had made for Hinahoho's family. Making sure that it was more than enough for three kids and a sickly woman before realizing that she might not be able to eat the clam chowder and then put some of the vegetable soup aside for her as well as two whole loafs of the bread that she had made and a medium sized platter of meats as she listened to the man she had awoken to find in her bed this morning list the woman's symptoms.

It not really clicking at first just how truly ill the woman was.


	23. Chapter 23

Mya stared at the three men, her once soft glowing peach colored skin a now chalky white as she realized what the man 'Sinbad' had just finished telling her while her mind went over various symptoms and illnesses until she had narrowed down several ideas of what was wrong with the giants wife.

And was instantly filled with dread.

Stiffness, fever, severe headaches, light sensitivity, nausea, loss of appetite- Good god it sounded as if the woman had influenza!

But what kind of if that was true- wouldn't others have contracted the illness by now?

"Has anyone come to you with the same symptoms?" She asked in an emotionless tone as she looked at Sin who gave her a startled look before slowly shaking his head as Hinahoho asked,

"Do you know what's made my wife ill?" His tone sounding so hopeful that it nearly set Mya's teeth on edge as she ignored him and instead demanded that someone show her where they keep their herbs and help her find some to make some medicine's for the giant's wife.

From the way that he spoke, his wife was obviously a very strong woman and had been fighting the illness for quite some time, and her strength was finally beginning to wane. Which meant that the woman's days were likely numbered without proper care, and though she wasn't sure she could save her- she damn well wasn't going to stand back and let her suffer if she could offer her a bit of comfort in her final days.

"Maybe..." Mya replied thoughtfully as Sin moved to a hidden closet off to her left and opened it for her, showing her the stores of medicinal herbs that grew in Sindria that had been carefully collected over the years and then stood off to the side as Mya began to go through the herbs.

Pulling out several pieces of roots, several different eatable berries ranging from black to strawberry and blueberry and even managed to find and pull out some willow's bark.

 _Now what the devil is she going to do with those?_ Sinbad wondered as she then went back to the counter and placed each item down before moving on to the food storage one last time and coming out with a jar of honey and some dried meat and rice.

"I need something to help me grind these down to a fine powder." She said motioning towards the honey, berries, meat and rice. Sin's brows disappeared under his dark hair as he glanced at Masrur. And silently motioned with his head for the man to go fetch the equipment she mentioned.

The man nodded and quietly got to his feet and disappeared while she began washing and setting each root, and other items aside to be crushed up and ground into a fine powder before finally stating, "It sounds as if you're wife has something called 'influenza' and if that's the case it must be pretty bad to have made her ill for so long when most either get better on their own or just up and die from it."

Hinahoho and Sinbad looked slightly alarmed to hear this little bit of information. "But seeing as your wife hasn't totally succumbed just yet means that she must have either a very strong body or a very willful nature. That's good. It mean's that whatever damage her body may have suffered all this time from being sick, might be _somewhat_ reversible. However there is a down side to influenza..."

Sin and Hinahoho both stood and sat perfectly still as she told them what had to be done until Hinahoho's wife was well again as Masrur returned with the mortar and pestle for her to use and set them down close by and listened as Mya told Sinbad about how the illness Hinahoho's wife had usually spread and just who it struck at first.

Alarming both men more than she probably should have considering the fact that Hina's kids were currently with their mother and primed for the illness to spread too.

She specified that the illness usually started in children, tending to strike at the young because their bodies were usually still developing and unequipped to handle it. They would have to be removed from their home for the time being and examined, then just to cover their bases- whatever the hell that meant- she'd have them begin taking food pills like their mother, to help their bodies store the things needed to help them better stay healthy.


	24. Chapter 24

It took some doing on Mya's part, but after a while- with the help of the red headed guy with scarlet eyes- she was able to manage to put together some food pills for the giant's wife to help her regain some of the strength that she had probably lost due to the nausea and vomiting caused by her illness.

Plus made some willow bark tea and some dried meat food pills to help the woman regain some of the proteins her body needed as well as enough extra to give to the man's children in case any of them became sick as well.

And then went about the next phase.

Examining the giant (firstly to see how much his body differed from a typical persons) and while doing so she found out several interesting facts.

1) The man's physic was absolutely incredible. The sheer amount of muscle mass he toted around on his frame was staggering! Honestly anyone who should weigh only about six to eight hundred and some odd pounds yet could somehow manage to carry around enough muscle to be able to lift several tons with ease was just...well... _incredible_.

2) The man's bones were much stronger than the average person's. So much so that they kind of reminded her of the remains of certain creatures she'd see in museums growing up. His bones were honestly so dense that she almost expected him to be anything but human.

3) His organs- heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, stomach ect... were all placed in different areas within his body which made examining him more or less a guessing game for her until Sin came up behind her and explained the reason for this phenomenon.

She may not have been a terribly brilliant person, but she wasn't stupid either.

The misplaced organs made it difficult for the man's enemies to fatally injure or kill him. The same could probably be said for his wife and children as well. Which was a little bit worrying since she began to wonder if anything she was doing would be of any help.

The differences in the giant and his family were staggering. And for a moment she began to fear for the families lives. After all, she wasn't stupid. Nor was she blind to the differences around her.

Everything was old. Ancient even.

In places like this one she now found herself in- the common cold could kill hundreds of thousands. And no one knew enough about medicines to be of any real use. _Everything_ was limited.

Knowledge. Resources. Medicines were practically non existent.

 _If the country was ever hit by war or some other illness or disease..._ She shivered at the thought of how many would lose their lives.

The look on her face must have been telling as she let her hands drop back to her sides and step away from the giant and moved to put everything, the tea, the various food pills as well as half of the vegetable and clam chowder's, along with five loafs of bread (honestly she doubted anyone would miss them since she had made a dozen or more out of sheer anxiety before the two whom had kept her company had managed to track her down) along with some of the different meats.

Knowing that the rest of the people from yesterday hadn't eaten anything this morning- she decided to do a bit more work in the kitchen to make up for the food she was putting aside so that no one went hungry as she carefully explained to the giant about the food pills as well as how to use them.

No explanation was needed for the willow bark tea. _Thank god_ \- the man obviously knew what it was used for.

Which meant that he had probably used it before in the past.

 _Good-_ She thought to herself as she grabbed the large fish that the man had dragged in and began cleaning, gutting and filleting the thing like a person possessed as she told the man to remember to remove the children from his home so none of them became ill and made sure they all (his wife included) had something to eat until she was done working in the kitchen and could come and examine them all.

The man nodded silently and grabbed two large trays laden with food pills and food with the red haired man grabbed the two pots of soup and the pot of tea that Mya had made and with a quick nod in her direction- he and the giant left the room, leaving her alone with Sin whom had fallen back to watch her in silence as she prepared the huge fish, partially for baking and partially for cooking in herbs with some clams and some other stuff.

"It was very kind of you to step in on Hinahoho's behalf like that, he's been very worried about his wife for quite some time." He said finally after several moments of simply watching her move around his kitchen.

She didn't speak. Didn't even bother to look at him. She simply seemed to ignore his presence as if she were angry with him. Which in all honesty she might have been since she had yet to snap at him for sneaking into her bed.

Instead she just sighed and moved over to where his generals had been sitting earlier and kicked one of the stools back and motioned for him to sit while she then turned away from him and went to grab him a bowl and a plate and then began to fix him some of the food that she had so carefully made and set it down before him without a single word.

Not that she needed to say anything. Her silence was fairly telling about just how upset she was. He just didn't know what exactly she was upset about and could only hazard a guess.


	25. Chapter 25

**Okay- Some of you are wondering why Mya isn't freaking out.**

 **She is. She just doesn't do it in a hysterical manner. She does it in her own little way. Besides if you'll recall in previous chapters, she took Masrur hostage, and even snuck out of her bed to look around for some means of figuring out where she was.**

 **The fact that she has yet to completely figure out and come to terms with the fact that she's stuck in ancient times- or what we would refer to as 'ancient' means nothing just yet.**

 **Another thing is she is now very aware of some of the dangers, and is terrified. Not so much for herself but for the people around her since many of them haven't a clue as to what could happen.**

 **Also, cooking helps settle her nerves when she's anxious. Which is probably good since it means that anyone in the palace not getting enough food to eat and becoming weakened by that fact, will regain their strength.**

 **Which is also good- because Sindria is about to face one of it's most horrifying threats yet.**

 **Wish the gal luck, she and everyone else will need her knowledge if they wish to survive.**

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At that exact moment, down by the docks- a royal ship from the Kou empire was dropping anchor. An imposing figure with collar length red hair and wine red eyes stepped out of the cabin where his younger brother, Kouha, lay sick from some unknown illness that had managed to fell some of the royal guards and even a number of the sailors traveling with them.

"How is prince Kouha today, highness?" One of the man's generals asked cautiously. If his king's expression was anything to go by- the young prince wasn't doing any better. In fact he'd hazard an educated guess that the boy was probably worse.

"He burns with fever and is unable to keep even the slightest bit of food and drink down... Hell, not even broth helps him at this point. He is growing weaker and if this continues for much longer I will lose my brother." The king stated angrily. Hating how helpless he was to help his younger brother at this moment in time. And not knowing what else to do for him and the rest of the sick men aboard his ship.

That was why they had come to Sindria after death had claimed the last six men three days ago instead of going straight home to seek help.

Sindria was well known for it's king and his generous nature.

He had thought that perhaps someone in Sindria would be able to help his sick men and younger brother before he lost anymore of them.

"Then what can we do to help?"

"I'm not sure that there is anything that we can do to help... Sinbad however- Just might be able to do something. He employs a number of sorcerers and healers. Surely _someone_ among them must know a way to ease and save my brother and my men." Their king said, his normally commanding tone taking on a somewhat desperate sound to their ears.

"Then we will go and seek one or all of Sinbad's healers and sorcerers."

"We cannot do that without declaring war. Besides, we will have to go straight to Sinbad and get permission and I'm not sure if we have the time to play his silly games." _Still..._ He thought to himself, He couldn't take anymore sitting around!His brother and men needed help. And he refused to lose anymore of them.

So it looked like he and his generals were going to have to find a healer on their own. One that was hopefully outside of the palace walls.

(****************************************************************************************************************************************************)

Sin finished the food that he had been given and pushed the dishes away with a contented sigh. Ah, the meal had really been great. Mya as it turned out was a fantastic cook. However the best part was of the whole experience was the one keeping him company.

Mya hadn't moved much since Masrur and Hinahoho had left the kitchen looking like their asses were on fire. But then being worried about people tended to do that even to the strongest of people. Masrur was probably at this very moment setting up a new place for Hinahoho's children while the giant tended to and explained the situation to his wife so that she wouldn't worry overly much.

"Are you done?" Mya asked, her soft voice cutting through his thoughts, causing him to smile at her and nod his head.

"Yes, thank you. You're a wonderful cook." He said as she took his dishes and went to wash them while he propped himself up on his elbow on the counter and watched her. His golden eyes turning to citrine yellow as he let his thoughts wander a bit.

"Is there anything you would like to do once you are done here?" He asked after several seconds. He knew that she wished to examine Hinahoho's children and see for herself that they were well, which was good. He wouldn't stop her. But he also wished to take her out among his people, perhaps to the market so that he could buy her some things.

Pretty jewels, dresses, rare plants and spices and beautifully scented lotions and oils for her hair and skin.

Ya know, the type of things a king did for his Queen when he was wooing her.

And if they happened to run across someplace that sold medicinal herbs and the like, he'd buy her enough to help her combat any disease or illness that she may come across. Plus a bit extra for his own medicinal herb stores. Just in case.

She placed the freshly washed dishes on a little shelf to dry and then turned to look at him and seemed to be thinking over his question for a moment before answering, "I don't know. I would like to look around outside, but I don't want to go alone to the fact that I'm a tad bit directionally impaired. And getting lost in an area I'm not familiar with isn't my idea of fun..." _Especially when just about anything could happen_. Was left unsaid between them. Not that Sinbad needed to be told what she was obviously thinking.

He knew enough about the world around him to know that bad things happened to innocent girls left to fend for themselves.

"After you examine Hina's children and see that they are well, if you truly wish to go outside and explore I will not stop you." He would however go along with her as a means of protection and drag all of his damn generals along for the hell of it.

Besides, the more the merrier, right?


	26. Chapter 26

Sin stayed close to Mya until he heard some of his other generals begin to move past the kitchen and with a pleasant smile bid his lady an overly theatrical ado. After all he needed to speak to his people, and she needed to complete her tasks in the kitchen before she went to check on Hina's children.

And then, he planned to let her clean herself up a bit so that he could take her on a little exploration of his kingdom.

Ya know, show her off to his people and let them know that their king now had a lady that he planned to settle down with. He already planned to buy her some expensive silks with lovely embroidery on them so that she would always have new materials for gowns and dresses.

Oh! Not to mention the trinkets he planned to get for her. And he wasn't sure just yet, but there was probably a decent idea forming somewhere in his head about raiding his own personal treasury for some extra trinkets and such. After all, as much as he wanted his Queen to be content and happy with her new life- he also wanted her to wear items befitting her station.

Yes, all in all, he was very excited about whatever adventures awaited himself and his Queen while they were outside the palace today.

In fact he couldn't wait.

(********************************************************************************************************************************)

Mya finished baking and cooking the large fish that she had started on sometime around the time she had began to become drowsy. She had awoken so early this morning- hours before the sun's rays had even begun to light up the skies- so that she could look around a bit more, that she had totally forgotten that she was tired.

She lifted her hands up over her head to stretch a bit and nearly jumped out of her skin in embarrassment when her stomach let out a loud growl. Quickly dropping her arms, she placed both hands over her stomach and looked around to see if there had been anyone around to hear that.

 _God, what a pain-_ She thought to herself tiredly as her body seemed to remind her that she had also forgone eating earlier in lieu of cooking to help calm her rattled nerves. There was, of course, only so much a gal could take before her body started to spaz out on her and the most basic functions (such as sleep, the need to eat, sit still, ect...) fled. Leaving only the barest minimum to help get her by on.

Sighing in an slightly frustrated manner, she looked around the now abandoned kitchen and thought. _Well I had better_ _eat or something._

Because she seriously doubted that the man, 'Sin' would allow her to slowly starve herself to death for any reason. Even if it wasn't exactly intentional on her part.

He seemed to have an unnatural interest in her. And for that reason- _whatever it was_ \- she could only figure that he wouldn't allow her to starve herself. Moving to where she had set aside some of the extra food pills that she had made, she grabbed three- two of the powdered meat, and another of berries coated in honey- and then sat back down with a... cup?

Could something really be called a cup when it looked like it was made of solid gold?

The blasted thing looked more like the goddamn holy grail, which she partially filled with water and then took her time taking the food pills since she didn't really seem to have much more energy at the moment. However that would change once the food pills kicked in.

Then she figured she'd have another two to three hours tops before her exhaustion got the better of her. She could get a good look beyond the walls in a little bit.

Hopefully.

She was about to just relax for a little while on one of the stools that the men had used earlier when she felt the air stir and turned to find a very intimidating looking, tall, well built, red haired and wine colored eyed man standing just inside the door leading to outside.

(*********************************************************************************************************************************)

 _Kouen didn't feel right about what he was about to do. But dammit, his younger brother and his men were deathly ill and nothing that he had done so far had helped them. Not only that but the search for a competent healer outside of the palace walls had been a failure of epic proportions._

 _And with that in mind, along with his mounting fear and desperation- Had driven him to change into the clothing of a civilian so that he could infiltrate Sinbad's palace and grab a healer and quickly return to the ship._

 _He didn't care right that moment that he was in Sinbad's back yard. Or that whoever he found to help him, may very well contract the illness and perish themselves._

 _All he could think of was saving his brother and his men..._

 _Once inside the walls of the palace, he made short work of ditching the guards that had been escorting him and making his way around to the side of the palace to the area where the kitchen was located. Expecting it to be abandoned by this hour and had to pause when he found a young girl dressed as a noble sitting on one of the stools._

 _Perhaps she was a visiting noble. Or foreign dignitary._

 _He didn't know. But all he really knew was that he needed help. So when she finally seemed to realize that he was there, he stepped into the kitchen- just far enough to let her see him- and then asked as politely as he could despite his desperation (he was a royal after all), "Can you help me please?"_

 _Shifting slightly the girl then replied, "What is it? What's wrong?"_

 _"It's my younger brother and my friends- They are deathly ill and in desperate need of a healer. Do you know of one?"_

 _"I'm a healer." She replied, a small frown on her face. "Tell me what you can of the illness making them sick." She said and Kouen felt himself relax slightly upon hearing those words. And quickly did as she was told her everything that he knew and watched her face and expressions._

 _Her skin looked as pale as new parchment once he was done speaking, her expression one of absolute horror as she quickly jumped up from her seat and grabbed a semi large and heavy looking basket and then went to the closet that held the food and quickly entered and grabbed as many jars of honey as she could and then next placed as many food pills in to the basket as possible and then went to the other closet- the one that held the medicinal herbs._

 _And grabbed enough willow bark, and garlic as possible and then walked up to the tall man somewhat cautiously and was about to hand him the basket when his arm snaked around her slender waist, startling a yelp out of her as he growled out a rough sounding, "Hang onto me." Not knowing that he intended to use one of his fastest djinn equip to get them back to his ship._

 _And before she could ask him what the hell he was doing, she felt her neck snap back on her shoulder's and felt the world blur..._

 _(*********************************************************************************************************************************)_

Standing with his back against the wall a few feet away, Masrur observed the whole incident and let out a low, barely audible hiss of displeasure upon seeing one of his king's enemies basically kidnapping his lady. However he knew better than to simply attack blindly. Especially when another royal was in the mix.

The last thing Sindria needed at the moment was for an international incident to occur. And yet if he had gone ahead and attacked the king of the Kou empire- that's exactly what they would have had on their hands.

And though every instinct in him practically screamed that he go now and protect his lady, after watching the exchange between the two- he wasn't altogether sure if that was a good idea either. Especially when the king of the Kou empire had practically reeked of desperation.

Kouen had mentioned that his brother and some of his men were all ill... And Mya had looked as if she had known something about the illness after he had described the symptoms. In fact she had looked somewhat like she had once hearing of Hina's wife's illness symptoms.

Only more horrified.

Still... Kidnapping his lady from the palace was an unforgiveable offense.

And if anything happened to her before he could reach her- he would tear the Kou empire's king to bloody pieces. Right now however, he needed to go find Hina. As the girl's adopted father- he'd bet that he'd have a few choice words for the Kou's ruler.

If he didn't flat out decide to kill the man first that is.

And then there was Sin.

What the hell were they supposed to tell him?


	27. Chapter 27

Hina stared at his wife as she reclined on some of the plush pillows of their bed. Her once pale complexion now slightly less pale now that she had eaten several of their Queen's food pills. And her fever- the willow bark tea lightly flavored with honey had helped lower her fever nicely.

And now that she was feeling a bit better and was resting more comfortably, Hina told his wife of how he had adopted Sinbad's future Queen as their daughter.

Earning him one of her rare, but amused, smiles. Which only prompted him to talk more about the wonderful cooking she had done this morning, and how she had even sent some for her when she felt up to eating. He told her that there was meat and bread and two kinds of soup- some of which he had already sent to their children.

He told her about Mya's life up until now. How wonderful and studious she had been as a child. Learning all that she could and then some for her education.

He told his wife of her biological family, and how they had all died on the same day with the exception of an elderly grandfather whom had died just last year of a combination of bad health and old age. Stating that Masrur had been told by the lady herself that her grandfather had died at the ripe old age of ninety something thanks to her meticulous and careful care.

He then told her of their adopted daughters impressive and extensive knowledge of illnesses and disease.

The look of total adoration on Hina's face was telling. He was already very much in love with his new daughter, and the fact that she was doing something to help his wife get better- made her love the girl too.

So naturally Hina and his wife were a mite upset when Masrur pushed open the door to their quarters and quickly told Hina of Mya's kidnapping by the Kou empire's king.

Hina cast a quick glance at his wife, not really wanting to leave her now that she was doing a little bit better. But his every instinct as Mya's father had him on his feet and moving towards the door with Masrur, absently grabbing his massive sword as he moved over to his friend and just before he slipped out the door, he heard his wife say softly.

"Be safe. And bring back our little girl." To which Hina could only glance back at her from over his shoulder and nodded his head in agreement.

Oh, he would. He would return with their child safely in tow- and anyone who tried to stop him would die screaming. His blood and very pride as an Imuchakk warrior would see to it.

(**********************************************************************************************************************************)

"She's doing better."

"Yes. Mya's knowledge has already begun to help her regain her strength..." Hina said. And for that he could never repay his adopted daughter enough. As he and Masrur began to move as quickly as they could towards the nearest door leading outside.

Already the two were begging to follow the Kou's king's scent away from the palace. And once they found where their lady Queen had been spirited off too Hina would likely send Masrur to gather Sinbad and the others so that they could extract the girl without incident.

And if they couldn't... Well Sinbad just might kill the bastard responsible for taking his bride regardless of the man's status as a fellow king.

(**********************************************************************************************************************************)

Mya regained her senses and found herself lying on her back on what appeared to be a slightly raised wooden platform with a several soft, goose down feather mattresses, and a small mountain of scarlet and gold colored plush pillows- in a darkened little room with only one very small window. The basket that she vaguely recalled having in her arms earlier- was set on a small table just a foot or so away from the place where she lay.

Along with a small lantern and a green colored, leather bound book.

Groaning slightly she shifted and after a moment or so of feeling no dizziness or nausea- felt brave enough to sit up and look around for a moment in an effort to better figure out where she was. That's when she felt it. The ever so slight rocking underneath her, as if she were someplace on a body of water.

Sighing she was about to try getting off of the bed when the door to the room opened and in stepped the man from before. "Ah, you're awake," He said as he stepped further into the room and walked around the platform/bed thingy, his eyes never leaving her face. "Forgive the abruptness of my actions earlier. I did not mean to cause you such discomfort."

Mya studied him as he spoke. Her mind going over every minute detail that she had missed before deciding to help him. Everything from the way he looked, to his expensive looking clothing, to his groomed red hair and those freaky wine colored eyes of his- everything including the way he moved and spoke all practically screamed- _noble_ to her.

This man had power, influence and god knew what else. Which meant that if anything happened to the people that he had brought her here to help...the he could hold her accountable for failing to do as he asked her to do. He could even imprison her or worse.

So treading carefully with him was an absolute must to her.

"That's...alright." She lied as he moved to stand just a foot or so from her, well within reaching distance and far too close for her comfort. Suppressing the urge to shudder under his unblinking stare, she slowly and carefully made it to the edge of the bed and began to climb out as she said, "Well. I think I've wasted enough time. Better go and-" She was stopped cold when she felt one of his hands seize her upper arm and pull her off of the bed and force her to her feet.

The force of the action causing her to stumble somewhat only to find herself pulled against his body. Her head forcibly tipped back when one of his hands buried itself in her pale hair.

 _Jezz, the man was tall._ She thought with a sliver of annoyance. He was almost as tall as the giant! Or maybe it was the fact that he was so tall that her head barely reached his chest that bothered her so much. Whatever the reason, he seemed to ignore her annoyance toward him and gave her a freakish looking smirk that just reeked of arrogance as he slowly released her as he said, "You know, you're quite pretty for a healer. I didn't expect that."

It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him to go soak his head in a damned bucket.

She refused to become some royal jerk's toy.

"Since this is a bit of a business transaction, should you manage to save my brother and my men- I will see to it that you are well compensated for you're time, and efforts. All you must do is name your price. Gold? Silver? Expensive trinkets and silk gowns? Status?" She said nothing. In fact the look on her face told him that she was less than impressed. Yet Kouen pressed on, enjoying the challenge that she represented.

"Or perhaps you would care more for something else..." He said almost thoughtfully as he considered her for several heartbeats before giving her a slow, predatory smile. "I find that I'm in the position to now marry and try for heirs to my bloodline- How would you like to be the next Queen of the Kou empire?"

Mya blinked at him in disbelief. Did she really hear what he had just suggested? Her. Marry. Him?

It was by far the highest compliment that Kouen could have paid the girl as he waited for her reply, after all, who would dare to turn him down? He thought to himself and almost missed her hiss of outrage a second before she yelled, "There is no way in hell I'd ever marry you! You're about as lovable as a frigging ax murderer! Now stop wasting time and get the hell out of my way so I can do my job."


	28. Chapter 28

Blinking down at the unexpectedly _irked_ young lady standing before him, Kouen's mind went over what she had just shrieked at him in anger and wondered if perhaps this woman was a tad bit touched in the head.

True she was lovely enough to be passably fair company for one such as he, but for her to turn down his offer of marriage- even if only in jest- was more than a tad bit insulting to his ego.

But then he hadn't exactly brought this woman onto his ship to marry her. No, he needed any and all skills she had as a healer to help save his brother and his men from certain death.

Whish was why while he stood there more or less stunned speechless by her declaration, she had already collected her basket of medical supplies and made a beeline for the cabin door and slipped out. The sound of her voice carrying on the soft sea breeze as she asked someone- probably one of his men- to take her to the sick people so that she could begin caring for them.

He waited for a good fifteen minutes or so in his cabin for her to come running back in a panic- perhaps he simply expected hysteria once she saw what she was going up against- however the longer he waited for her reaction to the sickness in his brother and men, the more he started to second guess himself when she never showed.

Irked for some reason by her 'lack' of reaction. Kouen left the cabin in search of her and found her first in his younger brother's cabin. Applying honey to some of the bigger, nastier looking blisters and boils covering his body, and then wrapping them in the make shift bandages that some of his men had made by tearing up bed sheets.

Soon after that he stood in the door way watching, seemingly transfixed as the girl gave his brother a spoonful of honey followed by another (for good measure, he heard her mutter) followed by some tea that he hadn't noticed in the room followed by two round balls of something peculiar.

After which his brother lay in his bed, quietly resting for the first time in what seemed like forever. His soft whimpering from discomfort having died down to gentle breathing.

It was at this point that Kouen realized that the girl seemed to really know what she was doing. And just to prove it, she finally seemed to notice him and said in a surprisingly soft tone, "I've already seen you're men. Only five of the nine you have under quarantine have the same illness as this boy. And all of them are being treated right now, via my instruction. The four that didn't have the illness, had some similar symptoms so it's easy to understand why you sent them below deck with the others. Curing them is a simple matter. The rest however need to be watched for any further decline. In the mean time- because this one and the others sick like him-" She motioned to his younger brother before continuing on.

"Because they have been having trouble swallowing due to sore throat's and nausea, I've given them honey to make taking food and drink easier on them and wish to try making some stew for them. Something easy on their stomach's. They will after all need their strength if they are to survive this. In the mean time- I've given each of them some of these..." She said as she held out one of her hands and showed his something.

It was several little balls or tablets that he had seen her give to Kouha before.

"I've also given instructions for the men seeing to the one's below to give each of the other's sick like this little one," She reached out almost subconsciously and pushed some of Kouha's sweat dampened hair away from his face. "To be given willow bark tea to help reduce fever, and take care of any pain and discomfort they are feeling so that they can rest better."

Kouen felt his jaw almost go slack in disbelief. This tiny slip of a woman had just done in less than fifteen minutes what he had been able to do in almost two weeks!

He wasn't sure just how grateful he was in that moment- he had after all come across a damned treasure in Sinbad's kitchen. And though she was probably no more than a minor lady among Sinbad's court, one thing was ultimately clear to him.

 _This. Woman. Would. Be. His. Queen._

He would not settle for anyone less.

Sensing rather than seeing her move away from his younger brother, he blinked to find her standing directly in front of him, her arms crossed- her head tilted back to meet his stare- as she finally said after a moment or so, "Well? Are you going to just stand there all day or are you going to show me to you're ship's kitchen? These people need food for crying out loud," A mere second or so before she reached out and placed her palm against his stomach then muttered, "You could probably use a home cooked meal too since I doubt you've eaten much since you're people became ill."

He thinned his lips at her and narrowed his eyes a little bit as he regarded her, his thoughts ranging from somewhere along the lines of, _How could she possibly know?_ to _I'm going to throttle her if she opens her mouth again._ Causing her to just smirk at him in a knowing fashion that had his blushing nearly as red as his hair.

Oh that was almost as bad as her opening her mouth!

Still he had to give the woman credit, she obviously knew more about what she was doing than he did. So he let her comments (especially any and all that may have been insulting to him- slide) and with a sigh, stepped back and let her out of his brother's cabin so that he could show her to the kitchen.

Deciding that he would at least give her cooking a try. If it meant his brother and men finally managed to hold something down, that is.

(***********************************************************************************************************************************)

Mya felt badly for speaking to the man so harshly before after going into the boy's cabin to see just what she was up against only to find herself face to face with the bubonic plague. Or at least, faint traces of it. Which meant that if she could get the boy and some of the lesser ill men to hold down some food and water and reduce their fever's then all that was left was for the illness to finally run it's course.

And knowing what she knew about the bubonic plague and medical studies from ancient and modern times- would help. And she recalled that one study had stated that garlic helped fend off the disease. In fact, there were quite a lot of things that garlic did medically.

It lowered blood pressure. Prevented the hardening of arteries. It reduced the risk of developing certain types of cancers (she wasn't too sure about that one due to the fact that most people with cancer got it one of two ways DNA or exposure). It also helped reduce the risk of many stomach ailments.

Which was why she had a plan in mind to help the sick men and the boy get some decent food laced with the stuff. and just for fun, everyone else on the ship would be getting some of what she planned to make too since they had all been exposed.

The dumbasses.


	29. Chapter 29

Sin stood in the doorway of the kitchen for a moment and scratched his head in puzzlement. After having just returned from seeing the rest of his generals and telling them of what his plans for their Queen for the day was- and after having twisted several arms both literally and figuratively to gain their support- he had once again returned to the kitchen to see if Mya was finished.

Which was apparently so since she wasn't there.

Moving on he quickly made his way to his Queen's chambers, again to tell her of his plans to take her out among his people and introduce her to as many as he could- and paused and quickly and quietly backed out of the room when he noted that Ja'far was still lying abed, sleeping.

The sound of his soft breathing in the large room giving the king the chills as he slipped back out of the room and firmly shut the door.

After that he went to see if Mya was bathing. No such luck. Damn.

Followed by going to see if she had managed to make it to the room Hina's kids were currently in so that she could examin them. Again- he had no such luck.

Beginning to get a strange, nauseous feeling in the pit of his stomach, Sin began to search the palace in earnest for his Queen. Calling on his guards and several of his generals to help him.

(*********************************************************************************************************************************)

Mya stood next to the stove in the ship's kitchen letting her butternut squash soup cook as she went over the details of what she knew of the bubonic plague.

1) It was caused by fleas on rats.

So she would have to get rid of any rats on the ship.

Either that or see to it they had flea dips... She didn't particularly like the idea of hurting them or worse just because they were animals. But If there were any on the ship, she had to do something about them before they escaped the ship and managed to get somewhere into the port among the many, _many_ other people beyond this ship if she wished to keep them all from becoming ill and dying too.

Kouen sat at the small wooden table several feet away, watching the girl as she made some soup for his men out of an exotic plant he had found and purchased on this expedition outside of his home country. Never really knowing that the gourd that the plant produced could even be eatable.

And the fact that it was and the woman knew it was just another reason why she was of interest to him as he watched her cut up some garlic and onion and put all of the pieces in a pan with some oil and then added a small touch of pepper and salt to the mix while she cooked it until it was soft. And then put it and the cut up and cooked pieces from the gourds she had found, in a large bowl and used a spoon to begin to mash and blend the stuff together before placing it in a large pot to cook along with some milk and water so that it could cook until thick like it was supposed to be when she finally asked, "Do you have any rats on this ship?"

Her question, while somewhat out there, was only a little unexpected since she was a woman and women rarely enjoyed keeping the company of pests such as rats and mice. However Kouen, being of royal blood, had a very strict rule about vermin being on his ships. And as such before he used any of his fleet- tended to have them checked from top to bottom and any vermin found was then removed and killed.

"No. There are no vermin on my ship." _So you needn't concern yourself with tripping over any and can instead focus on your job as a healer._ He thought as she got a thoughtful expression on her face before muttering under her breath,

"Then someone must have become exposed while in another port or town..." Giving him an idea of what she was thinking.

So- it was vermin that was to blame for his younger brother, and his men's plight. _Interesting how she has such knowledge of where the illness stems from as well as how to combat it._ He thought as he watched her pick up a garlic clove and toss it his way. Unsure of what to do- much less what the girl was thinking- he caught the herb and took a moment to study it before looking up at her questioningly.

"Those of you who aren't already sick or showing symptoms will need to start eating those. Anyone in the beginning stages of the illness with symptoms like- sore throat, trouble eating or swallowing, slight fever, chills ect. Will need to not only eat some of those- but take a few spoonful's of honey so that they can continue to eat and drink normally. That will give everyone a little bit of extra strength. But once the vomiting and muscle weakness hits, they'll have to either stay in their cabin or go below decks."

Kouen nodded his head in agreement as he silently wondered what part of fighting the illness the garlic played, yet didn't bother asking her as she went back to work on the soup. Leaving him alone to munch on the clove of garlic and scrunch up his nose in disgust of the bitter taste on his tongue.


	30. Chapter 30

The moment that she was done with the soup, Mya fixed a bowl for Kouen and then carried it across the room from the stove where she had been standing for the better part of an hour, and laid it and some bread that she had found along with some cut up fruit- down in front of him and then handed him a spoon so that he could eat it before bothering to speak to him again, "Eat that. As much as your stomach can stand, and then I want you to go to your cabin and get some rest. You look like you haven't slept much at all in days. You won't be much good to anyone later on if you don't take a little time to make sure that you don't become sick too."

 _It isn't a lie or exaggeration_ , Kouen thought to himself, merely a simple truth that she had decided to temporarily ignore in lieu of helping his younger brother and his men up until now. And as much as he hated it- he knew that she was right. It couldn't continue.

Despite being someone used to the strain of staying up day and night over and over again, there was only so much that even his body could take before he collapsed. And like she had pointed out- if that happened, he wouldn't be of any use to anyone.

Huffing slightly to the slight blow to his ego, he warily dipped his spoon into the hot soup and blew on it and then muttered, "If this tastes bad...I'm going to have to think of a way to punish you."

"Well then I've lucked out since it won't taste bad." Mya said with a slight smile as he reluctantly took his first bite of the soup and made a noncommittal sound before really digging in as she moved back to the stove and fixed a bowl for his brother and several more for his men.

She would have to work slowly and tend to each one herself if she wished any of them to manage to eat something of actual sustenance, he figured as he quickly finished up the soup and the bread and then began in on the fruit.

Everything was so good... Forget being a healer- he should marry the girl for just being an outstanding cook. Lord knew that there wasn't enough of those in his palace.

Once he was done, he watched as she picked up the jar of honey that she'd brought with her and grabbed one of the cooling bowls of soup and a spoon and carefully began to make her way towards the door, leading out onto the deck of the ship. Hopefully to go and try feeding his younger brother her wonderful concoction.

Pausing at the door for a moment, she glanced over her shoulder at him and said in her sternest voice. "I meant what I said. Go rest." And then left the kitchen and the smirking king behind.

He'd been firing cooks left and right for the past year in a half. And because of such, now anyone with even a little bit of knowledge and skill in the kitchen was afraid to come forth.

(**********************************************************************************************************************)

Masrur and Hinahoho both hid themselves among the buildings just shy of the docks and glared at the Kou empire's royal ships, hatefully. Both of their minds filled with the many, many terrible things that could be happening to their lady Queen at that very moment when they suddenly saw her on deck.

She was moving somewhat awkwardly, her hands full with- A bowl, a jar of honey and...a spoon?

 _What. The. Hell?_

"Hey Masrur- Can you smell anything from here?" Hina asked his companion.

The red headed man nodded his head slowly as he had been scenting the air for several minutes now and was slowly and steadily becoming alarmed by the smells assaulting his senses. The ship his lady was on reeked of death and decay and stale and freshly blood.

"What do you smell?" Hina asked, his tone a soft growl of annoyance as he saw the figure of their enemy leave the same cabin that their lady Queen had been in only minutes prior.

Knowing that he couldn't tell Hinahoho that his new adopted daughter was in serious danger, Masrur quickly moved to his feet and hissed out, "I'm going to get Sin and the others." Knowing that if they had any chance at all of retrieving their lady. Sin's presence would be needed.

Not to mention that while he was gone Hina would have to sit tight and not make any immediate moves towards the king of the Kou empire out of worry that it would bring war to Sindria's gates. He knew that Hina wouldn't like his departure since it meant he was hiding something from him.

But what choice did he have?

It was either go get Sin and tell him of what had happened and the possible danger their Queen was currently in- or tell Hina and watch him lose what little bit of control he had left and attack the ship to get Mya back. Causing not only an international incident, and war- but possibly his own demise as well.

Hina gave him a calculating look that was out of character for the usually very open and kind hearted man. As if he were trying to see into his soul and figure out just what it was Masrur refused to say to him. "Stay here and await my return." He told Hina in a rough tone when he had to reach out and grab the man by the hair when he started to get to his feet and move towards the ship. Stopping him cold.

He knew Hina hated it when he did this, grabbing him by the hair and stopping him from doing what his instincts as a warrior and a father demanded of him. But he had no desire to bury the only person he considered as close a friend to him as he considered Sin. "I said stay, dammit!" He hissed out from between gritted teeth as the giant bared his teeth in a silent snarl of rage at being forced to stay put.

Like he was a flipping dog or something.

"I don't care! That's my daughter up there!" Hina hissed back as he twisted around and tried to pull his hip length long blue hair free of Masrur's grasp.

"Don't make me knock you unconscious." Masrur warned the man who froze, knowing that his prick of a friend would do as he warned without any hesitation if he continued to act the way he was. But dammit that was his little girl! He wanted her safely back at home. Not on the enemies ship being forced to do who knew what.

"Fine." He bit out from between clenched teeth as he finally got Masrur to release his hair and sat back down where he had been before, with his back resting against the side of the building they had been using to hide themselves with, one leg bent at the knee with an arm draped over it and his weapon settled against his shoulder. "Go get Sin and the others," He said in a pissed tone that sent chills down even Masrur's spine. Oh he would hate to be king Kouen once Hina was finally unleashed upon the ship and it's master. Because nothing short of death would keep him from returning Mya to Sin and the rest of them safely. "Just don't take too long." He warned and Masrur nodded his head and vanished like a phantom.


	31. Chapter 31

The palace was on lockdown again by the time Masrur managed to return only to find several groups of soldiers running by frantically calling out, "My lady!" and "Lady Queen! Where are you?!" And took a moment to shake his head in pure annoyance.

 _Dammit._ This meant that Sin and the others probably knew that Mya was missing.

Which meant that his king would likely lose his mind once he was told where his Queen was and with whom. Sighing because the woman just naturally seemed to draw trouble to her like a magnet since appearing in his king's sovereign country.

He finished his task of jumping the palace walls and let himself freefall down to the ground as two of his fellow generals came running out of the palace and saw him, "Masrur! We have trouble. Our lady Queen is miss-" Sharkkan called out as he and Ja-far made their way over to him as he called out to them in response.

"I'm aware. And I need to see Sinbad. _Now_." The two looked at the fanalis with carefully veiled expressions as they came to stand before him while Masrur let out a low feral sounding growl to show that he had no time to fool around. He had left Hina unattended while his warrior's blood was surging hot in his veins and his instincts were demanding retribution.

Not to mention that he was fairly certain that his lady Queen was in some sort of danger.

And as such he had no time to fucking waste on trivialities.

"You know where our lady is. Don't you?" Ja-far asked as his gaze took on a more calculating look. Though he shouldn't have wasted his breath asking such a silly question. Since he could think of no other reason for Masrur to have disappeared before Sinbad had found his lady missing and locked down the palace.

"I do. And that's why I need to see Sin. We need to hurry. Our lady Queen is great danger and we must be very careful if we are to take her back alive and unharmed."

The two exchanged a look at each other for a moment before Ja-far nodded his head and quickly turned on his heel and led Masrur into the palace to where he had last seen Sinbad.

(**********************************************************************************************************************)

Kouen didn't bother going to his cabin and laying down until _after_ he had seen his brother eat something while he had asked the woman if she would be able to save him. Surprisingly, the woman had just smiled at him and told him that his brother wasn't so far gone that he would die like several others on his ship that she had already seen. And then she had told him that she was sorry that he would lose more of his men, but the sad truth of things was that the time they had spent searching for help- had more or less sealed the men's fates.

Especially since the illness they had was a quick moving one.

His brother would live. Some of the others would live. And inevitably they would become her sole focus.

He understood this. As a king to an empire far greater and more vast than the country of Sindria- he knew that sometimes people who became wounded could seem okay only to die later on of infection or complications.

The woman was only doing what he himself would do in such a situation, though he knew deep down that she hated to cut their losses and abandon the men who would die. She did however assure him that despite the fact that they would die- she would make them as comfortable as possible to ease their passing. After which he fell into silence and merely stared at his poor brother and said nothing more.

Not even when she picked up his brother's hand and simply, gently held it in her own while she set the half empty bowl of soup aside on the small bedside table next to the small lantern and then sat back down on the edge of his brother's bed and reached out and smoothed his sweat dampened red hair back from his flushed face and was surprised when he stirred from his fever induced sleep and opened his eyes to look at her.

"Hey there precious. You deciding to wake up a bit?" Mya asked him in a coaxing tone as Kouen quickly left the chair that he'd had brought to his brother's room when he had first became ill so that eh could sit and watch over him, and moved to stand behind the woman.

"B-Brother?" Kouha managed to somehow say around the feel of cotton that seemed to fill his mouth. The stranger- er, woman- that had just spoken to him smiled as his brother suddenly appeared just behind her.

His concerned wine colored eyes taking in his appearance as he gave him a shaky smile before reaching out and placing his large hand on the woman's shoulder and muttering something to her as he gave him another look, this time Kouha was able to see his older brother's face and eyes just a little more clearly and noted that there was a strange glittering sheen to them that he had never seen before as his brother turned and quickly left the room.

Puzzled Kouha looked back at the woman who now held a cup of something in her hand and waited until he sighed and asked for a drink before carefully helping him sit up a little bit by slipping one of her arms around his shoulders and pulling him up a bit and then placing the cup at his lips so that he could take what his body so obviously needed.

Kouen stood with his back to the side of his little brother's cabin with his shaking hands over his eyes to hide the fact that he was crying for the first time in years. His relief over seeing his brother awaken was simply so great that he couldn't stop the normally controllable emotions from welling up and overwhelming him.

Gods, he didn't care anymore who the woman was. She was a miracle worker. Truly she was, and he would forever be indebted to her for her kindness towards his brother and the rest of his men.

Finally after taking several minutes to regain his composure, Kouen took a moment to wipe his eyes with his hands and felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as he slowly began to drop his arms away from his face and almost missed the furious looking blue haired giant launch his favorite weapon right at his head...

(*******************************************************************************************************)

 _Still waters run deep-_ Masrur thought as Sin stared at him with an expression akin to horror/rage on his handsome face. His normally warm and mirthful honey gold eyes had just taken on a cold and lifeless look as he turned to Ja-far and said in a low tone. "Gather all of the generals who are currently present in the palace. And one of the palace healers. We leave to retrieve my Queen at once."

The former assassin nodded his head at his king's order and quickly began to set about following his commands as Masrur wondered if Hinahoho was still where he had left him.

It had been over an hour since he had returned to the palace- so he seriously doubted it. Especially since Hina was being driven by a higher authority at the moment than he.

So if they all went down to the docks it was likely that they would find a slaughter unless Mya intervened on the Kou empire's behalf. And even that may not even stop Hina from extracting his adopted daughter from a potentially dangerous environment.

(********************************************************************************************************)

Hina had waited for as long as he could stand when he noticed several soldiers dressed in Kou armor and colors carrying what looked like a dozen or more carefully wrapped bodies down a wooden plank and lay each of them in a row. Worrying the giant even more than he already was about his adopted child's safety.

When finally he could stand it no longer, he got to his feet and silently and stealthily moved to the main ship. The king's own personal ship, and waited for a clear opportunity before making his way onto the ship. Finding it just a little bit strange that upon reaching the deck- that there was no one present to sound the alarm with the exception of the king himself.

And he seemed to be distracted so much that Hina believed he would be an easy target.

He was half right, he supposed as he lifted his weapon and with an ease that took many, many years of practice, hurled the weapon at the man's head. Hoping that he would get a clean kill in before he searched out his adopted daughter. The fact that Kouen seemed to almost realize that he wasn't on deck alone any longer barely registered.

The fact that the man managed to hit the deck mere seconds before his spear embedded itself in the thick wood that he had been leaning against mere moments earlier...well, that seemed to register far more than anything else at the moment.

Especially when the infuriated giant heard a frightened/pained feminine shriek from somewhere in the cabin where his weapon had become imbedded- only seemed to add fuel to Hina's hatred- as the Kou empire's king quickly got to his feet and looked back at the spear before pulling his own sword and giving Hina an icy glare before snarling, _"General. You better not have injured my younger brother or the healer with you're foolishness."_ Because if he had- he would kill him. Kouen silently vowed as Hina drew his short sword and rushed him.

Hina wasn't listening. He couldn't have even cared less. His rational mind had already been overwhelmed and was currently being suppressed by his warrior's nature as his blade clashed with Kouen's.

(*********************************************************************************************************************)

The boy had managed to drink some water and eat some more of the soup that Mya had made before passing out on her from weariness. Leaving her to quietly check his bandages and change them before finishing up and quietly making her way towards the door of the cabin when something came smashing through the wood of the wall just a few feet or so (not even five feet from the door) and before she could even react- pierced her shoulder.

Ripping through the flesh and muscle and even burying itself in the delicate bone of her collarbone. Forcing a frightened/pained cry from her throat as she felt blood soak through her clothing and run down her arm and side as she felt her mind go blank and her vision swam and darkened once. Twice.

And then there was nothing except her body. Left in it's excruciatingly painful position. Hanging there, unconcious by her wounded shoulder like a rag doll.


	32. Chapter 32

Sin didn't bother waiting for his generals to follow him, like Masrur had already done, he slipped from the palace as silently as a shadow and waited until he was beyond the walls barely on the outskirt's of the town that was the most integral part of his country before changing himself using his speediest djinn equip to make his way to the docks where he knew the Kou empire's ships would be docked.

And once there dropped out of the air to land in a crouching position next to Masrur whom had apparently beat him there by mere minutes, and was taking in the rows of carefully prepared dead bodies in with a peculiar expression on his face when he heard the fanalis suddenly growl. Low and angry, the sound seemed to vibrate deep within the man's chest as he took a moment to recall the last time he'd heard that growl.

He'd been on the receiving end and had had the man's sharp, fang-like teeth buried in his shoulder trying to rip the flesh from it during one of their first gladiator matches. But then they had sort of been kids back then and the whole incident had more or less been forgotten. _Until now._ Sin thought as he sub consciously rubbed his shoulder while hoping that he didn't wind up bitten again.

That had hurt like a mother fucker.

Following Masrur's line of sight to the pair of fighters on the deck of the king's ship, he quickly saw what had so upset his general and sighed.

Sinbad wished he could say he was surprised to find Hina there. Truly he did. But with his newly adopted child missing and all- he honestly couldn't say he was surprised about much anymore. Especially since Kouen had been the one to take her from the palace. Still...he at least _wanted_ to say that he would have liked to come to the dock's and be able to try and retrieve his lady in a more diplomatic fashion.

 _But oh well_ , He thought with an internal shrug. Maybe Hina would get really lucky and kill Kouen and then there would be no reason for diplomacy.

A man could dream right?

Speaking of dreams... "Masrur, can you smell Mya? Is she alright?" Sin finally asked as he tore his eyes away from the two figures still somehow managing to dance around each other on Kouen's ship so that he could look at his general. The man only nodded his head once to confirm the fact that he could smell Mya.

He did however pale until his skin was the color of wax- it was nearly so bloodless. And his fingers gripped the lower part of his robe to the point that he almost shredded the material with his fingertips. His lips parted slightly and his eyes- the look in his eyes was unmistakable.

The man smelled blood.

And not just any blood, but freshly spilled blood.

 _But who's?_ Sinbad wondered for a moment before the man said. "I smell Mya- She's wounded. Perhaps even dying." He didn't bother to sweeten the news in any way. Despite the impact he knew it would have on Sinbad. He could smell his lady Queen's fear and pain from where he stood.

He could practically taste it on his tongue along with the scent of her blood. The sickening sweet smell was heady, calling to his dormant instinct to seek out prey and attack and devour it. Luckily for him, he had long gained control over such things and could put his instincts to good use by using them to find his lady before she hopefully bled to death.

"Where is she?" Sin asked, his tone bit out from between clenched teeth. His anger mounting more and more by the second despite his eerie calmness.

Masrur smelled the air around them again, taking a moment to filter out the smell of death and decay and old blood so that he could zero in on his lady's scent before finally pointing at the cabin where they could both see Hina's spear sticking out of the wood.

"She's there?" Again the fanalis nodded, not really trusting himself to speak. "Very well," Sinbad said in a dark tone that Masrur had never heard before, causing him to glance over at his king with a questioning look on his face. "We're going to go and retrieve my Queen and do what we can to treat her wounds until Yamriha and Ja-far get here to help."

"Hina will go mad if he see's her injured."

"Hina's already gone mad. We'll just leave him alone for the moment and stop him later." Sinbad said as he switched to his lightening djinn equip and looked at Masrur who just shrugged as if to say, 'If you want the man to murder another empire's king, then fine, that's you're choice. I don't care either way.' As he took a moment to let Sin wrap an arm around him and then felt himself going air born with his king.

(*************************************************************************************************************************)

 _The deck of my ship was taking a rather harsh beating_ , Kouen thought almost amused by the giant and his current inability to hit him as he dodged yet another attack causing it to smash into the deck that had been under his feet as Kouen flipped himself backwards several times to keep some distance between himself and the brute after him.

The second he was back up on his feet, he noted from the corner of his eye that Sinbad and another of his general's had just made an appearance on his ship and were both completely ignoring their giant friend and heading towards his younger brother's cabin.

Why?

What reason did they have to suddenly appear in masses and begin infiltrating his ship?

Could this be some political game of Sinbad's? Was that what was going on? Or had the man finally decided to stop dancing around certain issues between their kingdoms and simply eliminate him and others with royal blood? The moment he thought of that, he felt his heart almost stutter to a stop in his chest as he thought about his younger brother, lying ill and defenseless in his cabin.

He would be easy to dispose of in his current condition.

Panicking inwardly, he felt his sword clash again with the giant's and couldn't hold the man back any longer.

His concentration shot to hell, his bodies muscles and bones aching to the point where every blow from the giant nearly sent him to his knees- he felt himself being pushed back and it was all he could do to stay standing as he brought one of his legs up and kneed the giant in a very sensitive place on any man's body, hoping that the force of the blow would distract the man long enough for him to go to his brother's cabin and-

A loud and almost mournful wail came suddenly sounded, causing both him and the giant to stop trying to kill each other as both men looked towards the cabin mere seconds before Sinbad emerged with the woman he had brought to save his brother and men- carefully cradled against the distraught king's chest, lying still and bloody within his arms.

"Oh no." Kouen murmured to himself as he watched the king of Sindria fall to pieces before his very eyes. And he wasn't the only one either, the giant that had only moment's ago been trying to kill him- stumbled past him and moved over to where his king was and fell to his knees and began to cry as he reached a hand out to touch her hesitantly when Sinbad lashed out and snapped at him.

 _"Don't touch her! I don't care if you are her adopted father- Don't fucking touch her!"_

 _Ah_ , Kouen thought to himself as he sheathed his sword and moved to check on his brother before addressing the situation at hand. Now it all made sense. The woman was the giant's child. No wonder he had tried to kill him. He had taken her from a place of safety that was well known to the giant and placed her in danger's direct path.

He supposed that if he ever had any daughters of his own and any of them were taken, he'd probably already out the palace gates before even knew where they hell they were being held or who had them. It was a father's prerogative to protect his young, after all.

Peeking into the cabin, he saw that his brother had slept through the disruption and probably would continue to sleep for quite some time yet. Sighing in relief at the knowledge that Sinabd and his men hadn't come to assassinate him and his brother.

He then turned to the king and his giant general as the fanalis Sinbad kept as another of his general's took the woman from his king's grasp, and slipped his cape from around his broad shoulders and began to rip some of the fabric into stips and began to double several pieces over and press them against the raw and jagged wound one her shoulder that was still bleeding badly.

In an attempt to staunch the flow of blood and keep her from bleeding to death as Sinbad reached out a blood covered hand and swept some of her pale silvery blond hair back away from her face before leaning over her and pressing his lips against her forehead as the woman's body spasmed under the fanalis's hands, her expression going from one of oblivious unconsciousness to agonizing wakefulness in the span of seconds.

Her mouth opening as an almost breathless cry was ripped from her throat. Causing Sin to jerk back from her as if shocked to see her still alive. And perhaps he was. Kouen thought as he remained a silent observer as both Sinbad and the giant began speaking at once, one trying to coax her into remaining awake while the other continued to cry and began to apologize.

Both were immediately silenced by the fanalis when he let out a loud rumbling sound that Kouen recognized as a warning. The man was at his wits end with trying to help the woman and didn't need the other two distracting him.

Looking down at the woman whom he had brought to his ship to help his brother and men, he thought of how she had already been a big help to him and his people and pulled his sword again and called on his djinn, Phoenix, to heal as much of her wound as it could despite knowing that it couldn't heal her completely.

But it could lessen her pain and cut her healing time in half. If not more.

It was what he had tried to using on his brother and his men to keep each of them alive until now. So there was no reason why it shouldn't work on the woman.

"Move." He said to the fanalis and the other two who looked at him as if they had completely forgotten about him for a moment before each tensed up and glared at him as if they would like nothing more than to rip out his still beating heart.

The idiots.

Surly they wouldn't deny the woman what aid he could give her. She may die without it if they did. He knew it. He just hoped that they did as well.

Luckily for the woman, Sinbad seemed to realize what he was trying to do and quickly scooped her up in his arms and settled himself on his knees before Kouen with her in his lap, her head resting on his chest as he waited for Kouen to begin healing her.

"You know that this may only heal the worst of her wound. It can't heal it all." Kouen warned Sinbad, knowing from the way the man was acting towards the woman that there was something- something much deeper between the two. Or perhaps it was only deeper on Sinbad's side since the woman didn't seem to react to the man at all, but then that could be because she was injured and slowly bleeding out.

Such things tended to force the mind to think of other things.

Either way he was curious to figure out what was going on between the two.

"Here we go," Sinbad said softly against Mya's temple as Kouen's blade began to glow and pulse in the man's hand. "Hold on little love."


	33. Chapter 33

"Here we go," Sinbad said softly against Mya's temple as Kouen's blade began to glow and pulse in the man's hand. "Hold on little love. Just a little bit longer and then everything will be alright." Sinbad continued to say as he kissed Mya's temple again while keeping his eyes completely focused of Kouen.

So that if the man tried anything to hurt his Queen, he could easily strike at this distance and kill him.

Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately- depending on whom one managed to ask- Phoenix _did_ heal the worst of Mya's wound. Knitting the damage to the bone back together along with the severed nerves and blood vessels followed by the muscle tissue- together and leaving only a slightly more shallow wound behind.

One that would need stitching to completely help it heal and stop whatever blood she was still losing, but at least Sinbad could be sure this way that as long as no infection or complications occurred- his Queen would live.

"There. I'm afraid that it's the best I can do for now." Kouen said, his tone actually sounding sincere to Sinbad's ears as he took a moment to look the wound over before recovering it with the strips of fabric that had been ripped from Masrur's cape and then kissed the woman gently on the lips, the cheeks and then her forehead as he hugged her tightly to his chest and tried not to let his relief in the fact that her wound was no longer potentially life threatening, overwhelm him.

He couldn't afford to become distracted again. Not now.

Mya's wounds still needed tending. And above all, he wanted some fucking answers from Kouen about _why_ he had taken his woman.

"That's fine," Sinbad said as he turned to face the other man again, noting the peculiar scowl on the man's face from seeing him kiss his woman repeatedly. "The rest of my generals are on their way with a healer. Until then she needs a place to rest and to be cleaned up and changed into fresh clothing."

"She's rather small, but she can use some of Kouha's clothing since they are more likely to fit her better. As for someplace she can rest... I had a cabin prepared for the healer I managed to find and bring here since he/she would not be able to leave until their task was completed." Kouen commented.

Sinbad didn't like the way he worded his sentence or the way he suggested that she wear another man's clothing, but he didn't care much for moving Mya over a great distance and return her to the palace until she was feeling better. And while that could take days or even longer, he felt up to the task of sitting by her side, holding her hand, and nursing her back to health all while making himself a vindictive, royal pain in Kouen's ass over this entire incident.

At least until his woman was well enough to be back on her feet again.

"No. She can wear my robe," Sinbad said, effectively putting a halt to Kouen's suggestion to dress her in his brother's clothing. After all, he wore multiple layers of clothing over his robe. Not to mention the fact that he wore pants under all of it. So he could sacrifice a layer or two. Besides it wasn't like he'd be running around butt ass naked. And especially not in front of Kouen's men.

And while he knew that Mya could only rest in his robe for a little while, he would send one of his female general's to purchase some dresses and gowns and accessories from the market.

He knew that she looked good in greens and pinks, due entirely to her fair coloring and strangely colored hair. But he couldn't help but wonder what she would look like in lilac and violet and pale blues, reds and silvery white hues. Though he imagined she would look just as stunning in just about anything. "As for the cabin, lead the way." Sinbad said in a haughty tone that made Kouen wish he could rip the man's head off of his shoulders.

Of course he knew that Sinbad was a king like himself, but he hadn't been born into the role. He had weaseled his way into it by capturing a dungeon. And as such, despite his regal bearing in his country- he had no right to be impolite or rude to one such as Kouen, for he was a true royal by blood.

Even so, he said nothing to Sinbad about his behavior. He couldn't. Not when one o the man's people- an innocent had been injured while under his care. Even if it had been an accident, Sinbad could still hold him accountable and declare war against his country.

The very thought of meeting Sinbad in battle made Kouen nervous.

So he kept his mouth shut, and led the now standing king to the cabin that he had had prepared for the healer helping his brother and his men and sighed when he realized the woman may no longer be able to treat them. Making everything she had done for them so far practically null and void.

Frustrating him beyond measure since it meant that unless another healer of similar or greater skill than her own was found- his brother and all of the sick men below deck may perish. He stood back and watched as Sinbad laid the woman on the bed, on top of the covers for now and quickly pulled off his top two layers of his robe and then looked around for the water bucket that he knew would be close by.

Already filled and standing by for use. Once he located the bucket, he set his robes aside for a moment and began the tedious task of cleaning the blood from the woman's pale cheek where he had earlier smeared the life giving liquid on her face when he had touched her to move her silvery hair back from her face.

"She brought some things with her when I took her from the palace..." Kouen said after several minutes of uncomfortable silence.

"Oh?"

"She brought honey, and some tablet like things and some bandages-"

"Bring me what she brought with her." Sinbad said in an authoritative tone that made Kouen gnash his teeth and give the man a mock bow before leaving the cabin so that he wouldn't give into the sudden urge to strangle the other man while his back was turned.

The moment that Sin knew that Kouen was out of the room, he sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed and leaned down over Mya and muttered in a gentle tone, " _You. Are. In. So. Much. Trouble_... But that can wait for later. When you're feeling well again." Touching his forehead to her own, he stayed like that for several moments and simply allowed his heart and lungs to be lulled into the same steady rhythm as hers, and pulled back with a small smile when he heard Ja-far's voice calling his name from somewhere outside and pulled himself away from Mya to stand up and go to the door and growl at him to shut up and get inside the cabin.

After all, his woman's wound still needed tending.


	34. Chapter 34

Sinbad didn't leave Mya's side even once in the next two in a half days after finding her small body hanging from his friend/general's spear seemingly lifeless.

Not even when Ja-far came in and stripped her out of her bloody clothing. And her wound was cleaned and he could clearly see the damage done to her despite some of the newly knitted together tissue and blood vessels and nerves and he had felt the nearly overwhelming need to go and leave the cabin and so that he could vomit. Or break something in a righteous rage.

Whatever his mind and body managed to decide on first.

Nor did he leave Mya's side while Ja-far took on the overly tedious task of stitching her wound closed, leaving him with nothing to do aside from counting how many times the needle pierced her flesh and caused her to twitch, spasm, and at one point she had even regained consciousness long enough to attempt taking Ja-far's head off before passing out again.

A feat that not only somewhat amused the former assassin but impressed the younger man as well since taking his head off was seemingly only something that Sinbad had ever been able to do.

He finished counting the stitches in his beloved's body, noting that Hina's spear had done far more damage than he cared for. She had over eighty stitches in her flesh that once healed would leave a jagged scar behind.

Something he was most displeased about. But for the moment wouldn't bother dealing with since he wasn't sure he could trust himself to confront Hina over the whole incident just yet since he was still very upset with the man.

After which he promptly booted Ja-far out of the cabin so that he could place his queen in the white and teal colored robes that he had stripped himself out of earlier, and used the chord that he usually used to tie his hair back to belt it closed around her tiny waist. As he sat by her side to patiently await for her to regain consciousness while he thought through the things that had led up to the fight that had caused her wound.

And to be perfectly honest, logically he knew perfectly well that Hina had been well within his rights to attack Kouen and try to kill him. He had been trying to take back one of his children.

Still...he should have been more aware of where Mya had been.

And not lost his senses and placed her in danger like he had to begin with. For gods sake, the man had almost killed her! Even if it was by accident what had happened in his eyes- was unacceptable behavior for one of his generals. Especially where Mya was concerned.

He was still furious with his old friend over this fact- which was why he wouldn't confront him until he was sure she would be alright.

Only then did he feel as if his temper would be calmed enough to even be near the giant without murdering him. Until then he would simply let Hina fret over what he would have to do to get back into his good graces. Though he had a sneaky suspicion that it wouldn't take the man very long to begin his task of making amends.

Which was good since it was well into the afternoon of the second day, and Mya had finally began to show signs of waking.

Her pained groan pulling his honey gold eyes from the scroll that Ja-far had brought to him to help him kill time in between resting on the bed beside his Queen, letting his fingers stroke her hair or the baby soft skin of her cheek, occasionally checking her for fever, and giving her water and even some of the soup that she had made that Kouen had been using on his sick younger brother and men.

Setting the scroll aside, he moved from the chair he'd been resting in to move to the bed and leaned over her as her eyes fluttered open and her glazed eyes fixed on his face before she frowned and rasped, "What-" Apparently not recalling anything that had happened when she had been injured or afterwards.

"You were injured in an incident." Sinbad said very gently as he noted her confused expression before she asked,

"How bad?"

"You almost bled to death."

"Shoulder hurts-"

"You were hanging from it by a spear so I would imagine so."

"Don't remember..." She rasped before her eyes widened a bit as a sudden surge of panic hit her and her memories of the illness and the realization that there were dying men _still_ in need of care finally hit her. And she tried to push herself upright only to cry out in pain before Sinbad swore quietly under his breath and carefully, or as carefully as he could anyways- pushed her back down onto the bed before sighing softly, as she lay there trembling from the sudden onset of pain she had felt in her shoulder while trying to hold back her tears.

"How long?" She asked in a panicked tone as he stared at her pale face while trying to sooth her by combing his fingers through her silken hair. He had heard everything in detail from Kouen the day that he had come to get Mya and knew what she was asking. She wanted to know how long she had been out and what was going on with the men that were still sick.

Nodding his head in understanding, he answered her.

"Two in a half days. Four of the men you were treating have passed on. But since I brought a healer with me, and Kouen has been overseeing his actions- the others seem to be doing better. Some of them have even begun to heal. It's slow, but it is happening."

"I-I n-need to-" She started to say something, but stopped and bit her lower lip as she tried to get up again. Only to once again be stopped by him.

"You're not going anywhere, Mya. So just stop. You need to rest. And heal before you get up and try saving anyone." Sinbad said in a stern tone that brooked no argument before leaning over her and kissing her forehead and telling her that he would go and get her something to eat and drink if she felt up to trying to eat or drink anything.

Mya sighed as he pulled away from her and wondered if she could get away with escaping the bed while he was gone to do those things.

She doubted it. But she figured that it might be worth a shot. Waiting until he slipped out of the room, she tried to sit up again without moving her sore and throbbing shoulder too much and waited a minute or so before swinging her legs over the edge of the bed and deciding to try standing.

And not surprisingly, failed and wound up falling on her non injured side on the floor with a loud thud and a startled yelp.


	35. Chapter 35

Ja-far had been on his way to check on his lady's wound when upon reaching the cabin, he heard a loud thud and a yelp and quickly rushed to the door and peered inside to find his Queen lying on her uninjured side on the floor.

Her long pale hair lay in a flattering semi circle around her slender figure, hiding most of her from view. But he was a tad bit relieved to find that she hadn't fallen on her injured shoulder.

Just the other one.

Stepping into the cabin, he watched her somewhat awkward movement as she tried to push herself up and cleared his throat after a moment or so and nearly grinned down at her embarrassed expression as her pale green eyes met his mirthful emerald ones, causing her to blush as she stated softly, and albit a little lamely, "I...can't seem to walk."

"Hn." He said, unsure of if he should be worried that she had reopened her wound's stitching. Fretful of whether she had injured herself in some other way. Or furious at her for trying to move out of bed so soon when her body was still so weak from blood loss.

He settled for the latter- and decided that he had no real right to be furious with her.

Though he should probably help her up out of the floor and back to bed before Sinbad returned and went mental on them both. Kneeling down he slipped an arm under her- right around where her shoulders were- and his other arm underneath her knees, and gently lifted her up off of the floor and placed her back on the bed.

And not a moment too soon either since the door opened and Sinbad came in carrying a small meal of cut up fresh fruits, cooked chicken with herbs cooked into the skin, some cooked carrots and potato's, a small partial loaf of bread with some honey and a cup of willow bark tea for Mya's shoulder since it seemed to be paining her quite a bit.

"Here it is. Food fit for a queen." Sinbad announced cheerfully when he noticed Ja-far standing there with his hands on Mya and his cheerful expression faltered a bit as he growled out, _"What. Are. You. Doing?"_

Unsure of who he was speaking too, Mya started to open her mouth and explain herself when Ja-far placed his hand over her mouth to silence her as he half turned to face his king and smiled as he smoothly said, "Settle down, you fool. I simply came to check on her shoulder and to change the bandages on it. I even have some of my special healing salve to numb the wound so that it won't pain her so much."

Narrowing his golden eyes at his vicar Sinbad snipped, "Well I've brought her food and willow bark tea." As if he were suddenly in a contest of some sort for her attentions or something. It was enough to make Mya groan and give Ja-far a migraine headache.

"Enough, foolishness Sinbad," The former assassin snapped in an impatient tone as he glared at his king. Almost unbelieving of the childish way he was acting. "This isn't a contest. It don't matter if my lady uses the salve or tea just as long as she has something to help make her more comfortable."

Sinbad blinked for a moment while begrudgingly admitting to himself that his friend was right. Even if he didn't like it, he couldn't help but acknowledge the fact that Ja-far's logic was more than sound.

"Sorry." He muttered feeling more than a little sheepish for his less than stellar actions just now. But for some reason he couldn't help but feel jealous whenever he saw another man near his woman. Even more so when they touched her.

No one should take such liberties with her person. _No one._ Not even his most trusted advisor and friend. At least not until he was sure that Mya would agree to having him woo her until their wedding. And since he only had a short time to make the girl fall in love with him- he was becoming increasingly anxious since he knew that the time would pass much too quick.

In the blink of an eye really. Unless he could find a way to stop time for a bit.

Come to think of it...maybe he should get some people on that immediately.

"Sin. Why don't you set the food and drink down and go ask about having one of Kouen's bathtubs brought in along with some warm water, soaps, oils and lotions so that my lady can bathe and change into some fresh clothing that Sharrkan, Masrur and Hinahoho had been bringing from the palace and the market. I'm sure that my lady would enjoy soaking for a bit before I treat her wounds again." Ja-far said as he tapped the bedside table to indicate where Sinbad could place Mya's food and drink.

Sin opened his mouth to argue for a moment, but then abruptly shut his mouth. Knowing that arguing would do no good for him at this point, and went to do as Ja-far had bid him too since the look in the younger man's eye bespoke of swift and painful retaliation if he continued to act like such a child.

It was unseemly for a grown man to act in such a way. Especially in front of his intended.

And after telling Sin he would make sure that his lady Queen at least drank some of the tea before bathing, Sin seemed to relax some since he had been worried that his concern would go unheeded by his woman.

But he needn't have been so concerned since deep down he knew that while Mya was still adjusting to her new life and the way that things were in Sindria, she was a perceptive person and not a consciously or unjustly cruel person. In fact she didn't seem to have a cruel bone in her body. But then maybe that was just wishful thinking on his part.

Or just really bad observation skills. He didn't know which.

He did however know that Ja-far's advice about the bath and a change of fresh clothing before having her wound tended was a good one though.

Which is the only reason why he left his Queen alone with the man while he went to order a tub and warm water brought to the cabin along with the soaps and oils and lotions before going to one of the many, many, _many_ copper anm studded chests piled up against the side of the ship just outside of the cabin, barely out of the way, and took several minutes to dig through the top two and found three different dresses that would look stunning on Mya.

A pale lilac one with violet and silver embroidery, a red one with white flower along the collar, sleeves and hem, and an light turquoise one with gold thread embroidery sewn into the fabric of the bodice in a vine like fashion that covered the collar and top part of the sleeves.

He also found matching slippers for each dress, some jewelry to match, and some lovely diamond studded hair combs that would match any of the outfits.

And once satisfied with the thought that the dresses and jewels and slippers would please his woman, Sinbad made his way back into the cabin to see that Ja-far was helping her drink the tea that he had brought for her in order to keep her from moving her injured shoulder around too much.

Gently closing the door behind him, Sinbad made his way over to the bed and laid the items down on the bed as Ja-far set the partially empty cup aside and used his fingers to wipe at some of the drops of liquid that had escaped one corner of her mouth.

Ignoring the petty stab of jealousy- or at the very least trying too- Sinbad cleared his throat and said, "The tub and water should be here in a few moments along with everything else. I have multiple scented soaps, oils and lotions that are pleasing to the senses. If you could tell me you're favorite- I could try to see if I have anything to match it." Trying to draw Mya's eyes to his face because he didn't like the fact that she was suddenly blushing and looking slightly uncomfortable from Ja-far's touch.

Glancing away from the emerald eyed man, Mya looked at Sinbad for a moment and blinked as she thought over his suggestion before replying, "Jasmine, vanilla and white lilies. Jasmine, vanilla and white lilies are my favorite scents when it comes to lotions, and perfumes and soaps. But I can settle for others if it proves to difficult to find. I can even make my own with the right materials."

Sinbad blinked at her as he processed her reply before getting an idea and quickly leaving the room to go and get the chest of bathing soaps, oils and lotions that had been brought for her. Figuring that if she truly wished to make her own- why not let her?

After all, it might make her happy. And anything that made his woman happy made him happy.


	36. Chapter 36

While Sinbad was out of the room, Mya took a moment to nervously chew her bottom lip before managing to summon up the courage to finally ask quietly, "Uh... Um- I-If you don't mind my asking," Causing the emerald eyed man to glance at her from the corner of his eye as he laid the cup of what was left of the willow bark tea aside for later. "How _exactly_ did I get injured?"

Ja-far gave her his full attention for a moment, his expression just a bit surprised since he hadn't expected her to ask him about the incident so soon, if at all, that is. But he supposed that in her place, he would have some questions too. Like who, what, when, why, where, and so on. Which left him feeling somewhat uncomfortable about how to answer her.

It wasn't like it was a secret.

Well not to everyone outside of Kouen, Sinbad, and their general's that is.

But at the moment he wasn't sure if his king would appreciate him filling her in since he was probably intending for Hinahoho to tell her himself as a part of his of making amends for harming her. That way she could hear the details straight from him, as well as the reasons why, and punish him as she saw fit since she was the one that had been physically injured by him.

Which left him with the only solution he could think of.

Dropping to his knees before her, he reached out and gently took his lady's hand. The one that wasn't impeded by her injury, and brought it up to his forehead and pressed his skin against her own in a sign of subjugation and said very softly yet sincerely, "Forgive me my lady, but I cannot answer you're question. Fore I do not know if I would be crossing a line I should not cross." His actions and formal speech made her shift slightly, uncomfortably as she mulled over his words.

She had already come to realize that the place she was in was for lack of a better word, strange. Which meant that it would likely have peculiar and difficult to understand, custom's. And because of that knowledge- she was led to believe that the laws and government ruling the area- were also strange. Which was why she was trying so hard no to get involved.

But it was hard.

It was already painfully clear to her that the place- or country that she was currently in was terribly lacking in many fundamental ways. Much like it was painfully clear to her that the man on his knees before her was a servant of some kind despite his status to others in public. And the one he worked for was a noble of some kind.

Sighing when the man didn't immediately rise after speaking, she realized that he was waiting on her to order him to stand and felt herself becoming angry on his behalf. Yet somehow managed to curb her temper enough to keep it from showing as she extracted her hand from his light grasp and put it on top of his head and muttered, "Come on. Stop it already and get up."

Ja-far slowly got to his feet and stared down at his lady with a curious expression on his face, wondering why she looked so uncomfortable. "You're not mad m'lady?" He asked almost tentatively only to find himself on the receiving end of a slight glare.

"No." She replied as she settled her hands in her lap with a small wince as Sinbad finally returned carrying a medium sized chest in his hands and a big grin on his face.

"Here is all of the bathing soaps and lotions and such. Each one is in a jar and I keep a few spare empty jars sometimes. Do you think you can make use of them?" Sinbad asked as he set the chest down and quickly unlatched the lid so that she could see.

Carefully starting to move so that she didn't wind up jostling her wounded shoulder, when both Sinbad and Ja-far automatically moved to stop her and pushed her back down into the sitting position that she had formerly been in a few seconds ago.

"Stay down." Both men practically shouted at her at once before Sinbad growled out,

"There is no reason for you to bother moving while injured." Causing Mya to sigh, tired of the two men telling her what to do Mya let them finish pushing her back down before smacking both of their hands sharply and hissing at them.

"If I'm going to make my own bath soap- I need to be able to smell, mix and jar it."

" _We_ can do that for you." Sinbad argued. Obviously the man was possibly more stubborn than she had originally believed him to be.

"That is unacceptable to me." She said as she gave them both an _irked_ look before going on to say in a slightly peeved tone, "I'm not a child to be coddled. I'm used to doing things for myself regardless of my physical state of well being. Letting other's do something for me when I can do it myself is unacceptable!"

Both men blinked at her, unsure of what to say to her to get her to stop her bristling. It was more than obvious from her words that she hated having other's trying to help her, whether injured or not.

Ja-far glanced over at Sinbad, wondering how he would deal with her need for such freedom and independence. However he went about it- it probably didn't bode well for the rest of them since only a few of them had ever escaped a woman's ire.


	37. Chapter 37

**Sorry about not updating the past few days- caught a particularly nasty bug and have been really dehydrated, feverish, nauseous- suffering through a stupid cough and sore throat so bad that I actually began to cough up blood a few times.**

 **Oh and I also nearly wound up in the ER when my dumbass hubby made me go get groceries while I was still sick- and I nearly passed out in the store.**

 **So it's been a rough few days.**

 **But I'm much better now, my fever hasn't totally broken but it's lower than it was so now I can focus. Yay! Mind numbing work!**

 **I love mind numbing work.**

 **Anyways, here's the latest chap of Sweet Stranger. Not all that sure it'll be a long one, but I'll see what I can do.**

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Sinbad opened his mouth to say something, but then shut his mouth again when he caught Ja-far glaring at him as they both watched Mya take a few moments to become familiar with the scented soap's and such that he had, and decided to simply watch her work. Figuring that it may be entertaining if nothing else.

He'd say this for his woman, she was a quick and efficient worker with excellent memory skills.

So far she had found seven- no nine scents that were pleasing to her. And once she had, she set each one to the side on her left so that she could ready the empty jars. All in all the process of making her own bath soap didn't take her nearly as long as either man would have thought.

All in all the entire process took no more than ten minutes if even that. And the end result was seven different mixtures that Mya found most pleasing. To say that the situation left Sinbad and Ja-far _both_ gaping at the young woman in slack jawed disbelief and shock as she finished up the last jar full, would have been an understatement.

A very, _very_ grievous understatement. But truly neither man knew how else to react to her actions.

So when she had finally finished her work, and placed a lid on each jar after making sure to separate the scent she wanted to use for her bath from all the others, and then smiled up at them and said with no small hint of pride in her tone, "See. I told you I could do it by myself. And look! I didn't jostle my bad shoulder or tear even one stitch. Now don't the two of you feel silly for all that fussing?"

They felt something alright, but silly wasn't even close to the top of their list.

It was right about then that Masrur appeared in the doorway to the cabin with a large, heavy looking brass tub slung over one of his shoulders and waited for his king or his lady to indicate he should come in and place it somewhere where the floor wasn't so cluttered when Ja-far decided to take the initiative and motioned for the man to come in.

"Look, my lady. The tub is here and the water is likely not far behind. Do you know which dress you wish to wear once your done bathing?"

"That's nice. And no. Which should I wear?"

Ja-far chuckled softly, "I wouldn't know. I'm not a woman so I'm afraid that my advice would not be well received."

"Huh?" Mya said with a slight tilt of her head as she looked him over. She didn't understand what he meant. Especially since the man was dressed better than most women she knew of. To be perfectly honest she sort of figured him to be gay...

Not that she'd tell him that. She had the odd feeling that the seemingly laid back man was a wolf in sheep's clothing, though she wasn't all that sure what it was about him that gave her that impression.

"My lady?" The fair haired man said as he looked at her somewhat questioningly, causing her to jump a little and blink up at him upon realizing that he had been speaking to her.

"Huh?" She said unintelligibly as Masrur finished placing the brass tub across the room, next to the cabin's one small window, and then straightened his spine. Causing all sorts of cringe worthy popping and snapping sounds to occur before he turned and with a low graceful bow in her direction, let his red eyes flicker over her person as if doing inventory of everything he was seeing- and then quickly left before she could so much as thank him for his help or comment about the weird look he had given her.

"You're bath my lady, you're going to need help." Ja-far said as he watched the fanalis leave as quietly as he had come. His expression carefully masked so as not to upset his lady Queen since she probably didn't- Oh... _Oh!_ Ja-far thought to himself as he took in her puzzled expression as she all but glowered at the door where Masrur had vanished mere seconds before.

"Is that so?" Mya muttered before asking, "What was with the weird look that guy gave me?" She didn't sound angry, or...even hysterical like most women would have been in her place. Merely curious. As if she had never met a fanalis before and knew nothing of the warrior male's habits regarding those under their protection.

They tended to treat those under their protection like animal cubs mostly. But there were the few rare cases (like Masrur) who tended to take on a different approach to things. The look he had give her hadn't been one of anger or upset, it was one of careful calculation.

Ja-far wouldn't be too surprised once they returned to the palace, to find that his red haired, former gladiator friend had found a new way to drive Sinbad up the wall when he started sleeping in the floor next to Mya's bed every night from now on.

"Oh that... He's just been worried about you," Ja-far said, knowing that it wasn't really a lie but not really the total truth as well. Still... "I'm afraid that your injury has worried many these past few days."

"Oh. That makes sense."

"Now as I was saying earlier- When the water get's here, you're going to need help bathing." At which point Sinbad smirked gleefully and rubbed his hands together and said,

"No problem there, my friend. _I_ can help her." At which point both Ja-far and Mya gave him an appalled look before Mya shook her head and then promptly growled at him.

"Oh hell no! Get out pervert!" As she jumped to her feet and non too nicely shoved Sinbad out of the cabin and slammed the door in his face before he could so much as protest. Leaving poor Ja-far in the cabin with a very irked female. And no means of escape.


	38. Chapter 38

**Bad news on the home front- I found out two days ago that my dad will need heart surgery within the next few months.**

 **Despite the fact that his doctors told him that any kind of surgery at this point on his heart, would- I repeat, _would_ , in fact kill him.**

 **But it looks like he doesn't have any choice now but to have heart surgery. One of the valves on his heart has shrunk and all but stopped working.**

 **So now not only are we playing the-damned-if-you-do-and-damned-if-you-don't game. But we're also waiting to hear how quickly everything will need to be done since they are already schedualing him for various tests in the hopes of finding another way.**

 **But it isn't looking good.**

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The moment his lady slammed the door in Sinbad's face, Ja-far inwardly sighed at his foolish king's antics. While he understood them, apparently his lady Queen either did not or simply didn't appreciate them. As humorous as they were, the woman obviously held no humor for idiots and fools.

Which left Ja-far with the very unnerving task of being the one who would help his Queen bathe and cleanse herself once the water arrived. Which shouldn't be too very long from now-

"Hey," His lady's voice cut through his thoughts like a blade, the slightly peeved tone of her voice causing a nervous chill to shoot down his spine as he stiffened slightly and waited for her to finish whatever she had been about to say to him as he glanced at her face. Her face was flushed nearly as red as the red dress lying on the bed as she asked in a low tone, "Tell me something... Are you, like, gay or something?"

He blinked as he tried to think of what she meant. The words, 'like' and 'gay' were unfamiliar to him. So he had no idea how to answer her.

"Forgive me, my lady, but I do not understand-"

"Do you have sex with men?" She said quickly and without looking at him. Apparently embarrassed with the sudden topic matter despite the fact that she had been the one to bring it up to begin with.

His jaw went slack for a moment in disbelief. Having been caught off guard by her question for several moments before pulling himself together and taking a moment to think over things so that he could give her a proper answer.

While it was true he had bedded many men and women during his days as an assassin, he'd not taken any real pleasure in the act since they had all been targets. He had merely used one of the most valuable tools in his arsenal to dispose of them.

After all, a distracted prey never screamed while their throat was slit.

Still, since meeting Sinbad and becoming friends with him- he had only bedded a few men. The rest of the time he bedded women. But that was mostly for simple release of pent up energy.

So... How did one go about answering such a question honestly?

He could tell her a half lie, he supposed, and say 'yes'. After all, it wasn't like she would know the truth unless told otherwise. And besides, she would still need help bathing herself to make sure that her injury was properly cleaned and to make sure that she didn't overexert herself or was too vigorous with her scrubbing.

"Yes." Ja-far lied while inwardly cringing. He knew he had just lied to his Queen, even if it was a small lie- it was the equivalent of treason in Sindria. And by law she could have him whipped, thrown in the dungeon, tortured, banished or even killed if she so desired.

Still... She would have to learn of his deceit and be completely healed from her wound before he would let her take her revenge on him.

Mya let out the breath that she had been holding for the past several seconds and sighed in relief. _Oh thank god-_ She thought to herself. Not all that sure how she would have handled a straight man helping her in the bath. What with her having to get naked and all. So hearing the man say he was gay was just...awesome since it meant she wouldn't have to deal with any more discomfort and embarrassment than she already felt in her current situation.

Besides, having a strange, straight man seeing her naked recalled far too much to mind from just after her parents and brother's had died.

Seeing her strange expression, Ja-far decided to ask his lady some things. Hoping to figure out the reason for her earlier line of questioning as well as hoping to perhaps discover the reason behind her slightly pained expression. "My lady- If I may ask, why did you wish to know my sexual preferences?" He asked and watched as she suddenly looked at him with a dark look on her pretty face before replying.

"Just between us." He nodded his head and smiled politely at her as he waited for her to answer him, "I-I can't s-stand men very much. Especially men like your friend. Womanizer's and skirt chasers. They remind me too much of an incident that happened right after my parents and brother's died. _Before_ I went to live with my grandfather." Getting a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach and was about to give in to the urge to go grab Sinbad and drag him back so that he could hear this- but knew it would probably be unwise to do so since she didn't seem to trust people very much.

"What happened?" He asked, already having a sneaky suspicion of what she was about to tell him. And his heart already aching for her and the child she had been when the incident occurred.

"I snuck into a bar. It was stupid of me but...just um, it was right around a week since my family had died and I was still trying to come to terms with it. I had been alone since being informed and finally putting together everything for their funerals and it was the day after they had been buried and I had been going through everyone's things and packing them away. And suddenly I just felt really stifled in the house. Like I was slowly suffocating or something. So I left and went to a bar and decided that I wanted to get drunk and just forget for a little while." Ja-far nodded his head in understanding as he continued to listen with a heavy heart.

"Someone inside the bar- some guy- I don't remember much about him other than he kept bothering me. Trying to get me to dance with him, touching me, telling me all these sorts of disgusting things that he'd like to do to me, trying to coax me into leaving with him- and I guess my cold shoulder frustrated him... He- He drugged me. And I don't remember much after that aside from everything spinning and collapsing when I tried to get up and leave. The next thing I know I woke up naked on an dirty mattress in an old abandoned building." Ja-far clenched and unclenched his hands angrily as he stared at his closest friends chosen bride, careful to keep his expression masked as she continued.

"Everything hurt. I couldn't remember where I was or who had taken me there. All I knew was that something bad had happened and it made me feel...sick. Dirty. Like I was a whore. Like that's all I would ever be or feel. I don't really know how to explain it, those were the only things I could feel at that moment. So when you said that I would need help bathing, all I could think was, 'Not again. Please not again.'" She finished speaking as a tear slipped down her pale face and she quickly wiped it away. Hating herself for appearing so weak in front of another person.

Ja-far reached out and pulled his lady Queen into his arms, fitting her smaller body against his own in a protective manner as he thought over her actions from the day of her arrival in Sindria.

The running from Sinbad not once but repeatedly. Trying to escape. Holding Masrur hostage... Well okay even he had no real idea of what had gone through her mind _that_ day. But he was sure that it had been something along the lines of meaning to use him as a human shield.

If he were a traumatized young woman who had been ill used in the past, and found himself on the receiving end of an overly amorous man like Sin- That's what he probably would have done too.

Sighing he combed his fingers through her soft silvery blond hair, trying to convey comfort without coming across as creepy, he thought to himself, _This is going to break Sin's heart when he finds out._


	39. Chapter 39

**Fear isn't the absence of courage- Courage, true courage- is the ability to persevere through all obstacles.** Mya thought to herself as she watched the brass tub as it was filled half way with warm water by several men wearing black, red and gold armor different from what she had seen of 'Sin's' men thus far. Meaning that they must belong to the guy that had brought her to the ship to care for the sick and dying.

She would have liked to ask about their comrades and see if there was anything no matter how small she could do for the sick men while she was up since she doubted that the butternut squash soup would have lasted several days. Or remained very fresh for that matter.

However upon filling the tub, the men each cast her a peculiar look before Ja-far quickly stepped in their line of vision and did something that had the men paling and practically fleeing from the cabin in terror before she could so much as react.

All she could do was blink and _'poof'_ they were gone.

Leaving her alone with Ja-far whom was busy testing the temperature of the water with his finger tips to make sure that it wasn't too hot or cool to be of use. Since it would be a pain to have to drain and refill the tub several times.

Once assured that the temperature of the water was good enough to be of use without scalding Mya's skin or being too cool- Jafar straightened his spine and glanced over at his lady Queen and wondered what she could be thinking at this exact moment before deciding that it was best to simply get this over with.

"My lady, do you need help undressing?" He asked somewhat cautiously as he regarded her as she bent down and picked up the scented soap she had made earlier and held the glass jar carefully in her hand before looking down at herself for a second and then giving an aggrieved sigh.

She didn't want to say 'yes', but being dressed in unfamiliar clothing with an arm out of commission pretty much meant that she had no choice but to say 'yes'. Still...this was a vexing situation. One that stung her pride as an independent woman, just a bit.

"Help...would be nice..." She muttered as she cast a somewhat wary look towards the dresses on the bed knowing that she was expected to wear the many, many layers of vibrant colored, heavy fabric and look like a true woman of this strange country without complaint.

She wondered if it would be alright for her to borrow some fur pelts and make herself a fur skinned bikini to run around in. Granted they were far too revealing for her taste. And the pervert outside the cabin would likely enjoy the display of skin. But at least it was something she could somewhat live with in comfort.

Moving to untie the belt around her waist, Ja-far carefully tugged at the knot that Sinbad had used all while silently cursing him for using a sailor's knot to keep the robes she was currently dressed in closed. Once that was untied, he carefully helped her slip the robes from her slender shoulders without hurting her and then turned his back to allow her some measure of privacy while she climbed into the tub.

While in the tub, Mya made sure to draw her knees as tightly to her chest as possible in an effort to semi hide herself from him as he draped the robes over the arm of the large chair that his friend had occupied earlier before coming back to the tub and moving around to her back and dropping to his knees on the floor.

This was perhaps the best position for him to be of help to her, he reasoned to himself, since it would help him be able to wash her long hair and keep her from moving around too much. He'd leave cleaning her front, to her since he doubted having his hands on her breasts or lower would be welcome.

"Here." Mya said as she held up the jar, making sure to keep it carefully balanced in her palm so that he could take it from her.

Smiling, Ja-far took the jar from her and said, "I need you to wet your hair." And was more than a little surprised when she let herself slip completely under the water- wetting not only her hair but everything above the shoulders before popping back up with several small coughs.

"Are you alright?"

"I think some of the water went up my nose."

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Upon being exiled from his beloved's cabin, Sin's attention shifted to Hinahoho. The giant had been busy in the past two days since Mya had been placed in the cabin to rest and heal from the wound that he had accidentally inflicted while trying to retrieve her and kill King Kouen.

He had neither slept nor ate between his trips to the palace and the market to get the pile of chest containing trinkets, expensive gowns and dresses, jeweled combs and other hair ornaments, lotions, oils, soaps- ect... And though Sin was no longer angry with his old friend now that he knew his Queen would live and be just fine, he had been unable to approach the giant as of yet since he had yet to face Mya and apologize for what he had done.

Still... The woman was his adopted daughter- so maybe at least telling him that she had awakened and was doing well for the moment would ease some of the guilt he knew the warrior had to be feeling.

Walking up to the giant, Sinbad studied his messy appearance. The poor guy looked like a whole different person. He had dark circles under his normally bright blue eyes, two days of unshaven stubble, his long blue hair was tangled, unkept and disheveled almost as badly as his clothing was.

But what was most disturbing was the fact that if he looked to the left of Hina's leg, he could see several trays and bowls of fly infested food (which was obviously the work of Masrur since the other generals hadn't wanted to risk feeling his wrath) that had gone untouched.

Hina tilted his head back to look at him, his expression blank as he waited for his king to speak to him. To tell him anything of his adopted child's health. He had been denying himself sleep and food for the past few days as a sort of penance for what he had done.

And though he didn't wish to admit it to himself, he was afraid. So, so very afraid. So much so that he had been torturing himself.

He had been asking himself over and over again if there could have been anything different that he could have done to prevent Mya from being injured. And the only answer he came up with had been that he should have listened to Masrur when he told him to stay put.

It had been the most sensible and logical conclusion. And yet, his warrior instincts were not a thing of logic or sense. They had been in full control and dictated his every action, flawed as they had been.

It all simply boiled down to this. His child had been taken by an enemy. He had just wanted his child back. Nothing short of death itself could have stopped him once his instincts had come into play.

God he hated himself for causing his newest and most fragile child such pain. And for causing his king such anguish. Yet despite how much he hated himself just then, his king's presence didn't go unnoticed or unobserved. So he tilted his head back to look up at him, his position one of subservient. If his king demanded he die, he was prepared to unsheathe his sword and fall upon it.

Yet strangely enough, his king just reached out and placed his hand on top of his head and ran his fingers through his messy locks as if he were a small child in desperate need of grooming. It was a peculiar action. But it spoke volumes more than a simple voice could ever have.

His child lived. And while Sinbad had yet to come out and say it- he was more or less forgiven.


	40. Chapter 40

"Um... I-I've been meaning to ask for a while now-" Mya started to say, her tone tentative as Ja-far worked the soap on his hands through her hair, carefully due to it's length. Seeing as the last thing he wanted was to hurt the poor woman's scalp or accidentally pull some of her hair out.

His eyes flickered to the back of her head for just a moment before returning to his hands before he asked, "And what could that be?" Referring to her apparent question as he waited for her to continue.

"Well. Something has been bothering me since, um, my..." What the hell did one call potential time travel? Or something?

Stilling his hands, Ja-far once again lifted his eyes to look at the back of her head and noted her fidgeting, nervous manner and put two and two together in his head, knowing that it had only been a matter of time before she asked questions about her arrival in Sindria and asked about other things as well.

After all, she was a woman of above average intelligence. She had probably been using her time so far to feel out everything and everyone around her. Take in how everyone went about their daily lives, how they lived, traded and fended for themselves.

It was only natural to be curious about such things, especially if her country and people functioned differently from her own.

"Since you're arrival here." He supplied helpfully. And saw her subtly nod her head, yes.

"Yeah, that. I...don't know how I got here. I-I don't even know where here is," _This_ particular piece of information startled Ja-far somewhat. Causing him to sub consciously tug on her long tresses, and forcing a yelp from her before she quickly twisted around in the tub to glare at him. The water sloshing a bit over the rim. "Ow! Was that necessary?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry my lady. My hand slipped." He semi lied to her before quickly ducking his head to glower at his hands. It looked like some of his old habits were rearing their ugly head at the moment.

She glared for a moment longer before deciding to let the tug on her hair slide and continue speaking. "Anyways, as I was saying- I don't know this country or it's customs. But there are several things that have been bothering me."

"I will answer what I can." Ja-far said as he cautiously handed her her soapy hair so that he didn't wind up tugging it again.

"Thanks. You have no idea how much I appreciate it," Mya said as he rinsed his hands. His lips curved up in an amused smile as she finally started firing away her questions. "First and foremost, why was I naked in you're friend's presence the night of my arrival? Secondly, why are he and the big guy with blue hair so obsessed with me? Third, c-can I keep the red haired guy? The one who wears the gold colored armor. He's just such a good companion. And I know that 'keeping' him sort of sounds like how one would keep a pet, but I don't mean anything like that. I like him and just flat out think he's adorable. He's good friend material, you know. Fourth, why does everyone keep referring to me as 'my lady'? I know it has something to do with station or status since those things seem to be of importance here, but it makes me uncomfortable. I'm used to just being Mya and nothing else. Fifth... What is the reason for all the expensive gowns and trinkets and such? Don't get me wrong I like nice things like any other woman but I'd much prefer to earn the money to pay for them myself."

Ja-far's eye brows vanished under his bangs as he considered her and her questions, _carefully_. After all there was no point in answering her if he could not answer her as honestly as possible in a way that she would understand.

"Is that all that has been bothering you, my lady?"

Mya nodded her head and waited for him to say something. And when he finally did, it wasn't exactly what she had been expecting to hear. In fact what he told her first was probably the most difficult thing to hear.

"Very well, let's start with you're first question. What occurred the night you appeared here and awakened naked in Sinbad's presence was part of an important ceremony. A ceremony that we refer too as an 'acceptance' ceremony. The reason behind your state of undress had to do with part of the ceremony. Sinbad had to see you. All of you." Mya opened her mouth to question why, but Ja-far quickly placed his hands over her mouth to keep her quiet and continued.

"He had to see every inch of you're body to make sure that you were worthy of him since the most important part of the entire ceremony is to see if there are flaws or illness or disease that would make it difficult for him to bed you later on. Upon finding none of those things, Sinbad then began to ready himself to accept you. He was meant to give you the ceremonial blade that belonged to his late father as a token of his devotion to you- but seeing as he has yet to be able to do so. The ceremony was completed before my interruption. However several things have yet to happen."

"For starters, Sinbad has yet to formally announce you're marriage to him. For thins reason he is supposed to spend the next month or so courting you until a formal ceremony _with_ witnesses can occur. It is yet another way of securing you're position in his palace. Otherwise you would be considered nothing more than an unprotected woman." And fair game for any man in want of a bed partner, hung unsaid between them as he removed his hands from her mouth and noted her expression.

It wasn't one of acceptance. Happiness or even giddiness like other women would feel upon learning that they had been secretly married. No. Mya's expression held barely contained outrage. And for once Ja-far questioned whether it was wise or not to continue.

"Then the reason he is obsessed with me is-"

"You are his wife by the laws of our land."

"After hearing that I'm almost too scared to ask again about the big guy."

"You shouldn't be, he isn't obsessed. Not in the way you may think. By the laws of our land, he adopted you as one of his children. Which is why when you were taken, he came to kill the man who took you." Ja-far thought it wise to say no more on that particular subject and instead went a different rout. "The man is one of the most feared generals in our king's army. He adopted you to make sure that you would always be taken care of if something should happen to him. This also solidified your station in the king's palace, making you a lady of the court."

"As for the other things, Masrur for instance, will likely spend many a day in your presence. As you said before, he is a good companion and friend material. He would like such praise. Have I answered all you're questions to your satisfaction?" He asked politely.

"All but one. You mentioned you're king. Have I met him yet?" Mya asked, wondering if perhaps the king could somehow annul her 'marriage' to the jerk that had married her without her knowledge.

"You have."

"Really? I don't recall."

"Well, he will be most upset to hear that he left no impression on you-" Ja-far said with a wry smile as he watched her for a moment before adding, "Since he is you're husband."

 ** _"HE'S WHAT?!"_** Mya practically shrieked in horror, startling him as she stared at him wide eyed for a moment before growling and turning away from him and dunking her head under the water. Probably to rinse her hair. But when she didn't come up immediately, he began to wonder if he should be worried and maybe reach into the water and fish her out when her head finally broke the surface for a second and she huffed, "Damn. Still alive. I have to try harder." And then dunked herself again.

This time Ja-far was definitely worried. It had never occurred to him that Mya would be so upset by the news of her marriage to his king that she would actually try to drown herself.


	41. Chapter 41

_Alright._ _Worried is perhaps a little too tame a word to use_ , Ja-far thought as he fished Mya out from under the soapy water after sitting idly by for several minutes and watching her attempt to drown herself before finally deciding enough was enough. She'd been under water for almost two in a half minutes now without coming up for air like all the times before, and since she was likely being stubborn- he would simply have to intervene on Sinbad's behalf.

Especially since having one's Queen drown herself so shortly after marriage would assure that Sinbad never married or had heirs! Not that Ja-far was looking forward to the birth of any of Sinbad's heirs or anything. Especially if they took after their father...

 _Ugh._ He thought as he fished Mya out of the water and pulled her upright and out of the tub and wrapped her small body in a large towel as she sputtered and coughed a bit as he muttered, "I think that will be enough attempts on your life for one day."

"I *cough* really suck at this huh." Mya wheezed as he scooped her up in his arms an carried her over to the bed and gently deposited her onto it while mulling over her words. He had no idea what she meant by 'suck at' but he could make a fairly good educated guess behind the meaning of the words before replying in an amused tone.

"Yes. Which is why we shall leave the attempts on your life to the professionals from now on, agreed?" He said as he helped the shivering woman dry off before grabbing a smaller towel and starting on drying her hair as she huffed and glared over his shoulder before muttering.

"But I was so close..."

"Yes. But you kept failing." He pointed out gently, not trying to be rude or disrespectful though he didn't understand the reasoning behind her reaction to everything he had told her, as he finished drying her off and then deftly grabbed the healing salve and bandages and moved to place them over her wound. "By the way, I don't understand you're reason for attempting to snuff out your own life repeatedly-" He finally said, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"Well, if you came from a place where you chose your spouse yourself instead of being married against your will, wouldn't you take it a bit hard? Maybe even get angry that your freedom of choice was taken?"

Ja-far looked at her for a moment as he considered her words and he conceded her point. That _would_ upset him. However there was one huge difference, he was a man. His Queen however, was not. And as such, the choice of whom she married was usually left up to any male feeling up to the task.

In this case the one feeling up to the task- was Sinbad.

However he still didn't completely understand. As wrong as Sinbad may have been to marry her without permission from her first, his king was considered quite the catch. Marriage wise anyways. Not only was he a young and handsome man, but he was the king of his own country. He had more wealth from trading with other nations than he could ever spend in this life time or any other for that matter. He was kind. Generous. Strong. Loving.

He _always_ kept his word.

He would see to her care both physically and emotionally for the rest of her natural life. And...you know, the more he thought about Sin's good point's the more he became alarmingly aware that he may perhaps hold a bit of unnatural affection for the man. Not that he was in love with him or anything. That would just be sick.

Still, he wished to point these things out to his Queen and make her see reason. But somehow, currently, he just didn't think that was going to happen very easily.

What with her being stubborn and all.

 _Perhaps it would be best to simply have Sinbad speak with her_. He thought to himself as he finished treating her injury and then helped her dress in one of the dresses that Sin had brought for her and then brushed and wove a jeweled head piece into her long hair as he braided it before setting everything aside and then looking her over and was astonished by what he saw.

 _Good- How the- Well... I'll give Sinbad credit where it is due. He certainly didn't pick an flawed gem. With the right_ _encouragement and polish- she will shine more brightly than any other princess or Queen in the known world._ He thought with a smirk before saying, "You truly are a lovely young woman, my lady. Now if you'll just sit here and relax and eat something. I'll see about having the bath tub removed and drained. There will be no more attempts on your life, yes?"

She opened her mouth to say something but instead snapped her mouth closed and growled at him in a similar fashion to how Masrur had the last time he had threatened to remove several of his limbs from his body.

It was quite impressive. And it told him that his friend would have quite the uphill battle once he returned.

Glancing towards the tub of soapy water, he vaguely felt a sliver of concern about if she'd try to drown Sin. But that sliver only last for about a second or so before he picked up the tray of food that Sin had brought in earlier and set it down on the bed within her reach and then smiled pleasantly at her and bowed to her respectfully before walking out of the cabin to find Sin.


	42. Chapter 42

**I'm not sure that I like this chap. So if I take it down later try not to hold it against me.**

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Mya watched Ja-far leave the cabin and gave a little huff of frustration as she made a face at the door before turning her attention to the food he'd placed before her and sighed tiredly. She didn't want to eat anything, but she knew that her body had probably lost a lot more blood than everyone was letting on.

Which probably explained why she had been asleep for the past couple of days. Her body had temporarily shut down to help her regain some of the strength that she had lost when she had been bleeding.

Which meant that even though she had no appetite at the moment, she still needed to eat something. _Too bad there's no such thing as Gatorade. I could really use some right about now_ , She thought ruefully as she looked the food over again for a moment before picking up the piece of bread and dipping part of it in the honey on the try and took a big bite.

Thankfully the bread was fresh and not old and stale, making it easier for her to chew up and swallow before taking three or so more bites before setting it back down and deciding that she'd had enough for the moment.

If she bothered eating any more right now she'd likely become nauseous. And that was never a good sign.

Pushing the tray away from her, her mind automatically went to the conversation that she'd had with Ja-far during her bath and tried to wrap her mind around the fact that here, in this strange place, she was a noble woman. And not just any noble woman, but a noble woman whom was married to a king...

Most women would have died of shock right on the spot. And not in the same capacity that Mya wished too. No. They would take one look at the man, how handsome he was. Those gorgeous honey gold eyes of his. The things he would and could shower them with- and they would swoon right into the infuriatingly perfect man's infuriating arms.

The door to the cabin opened, causing her to glance in that direction and noted that her 'husband' had finally decided to return and was poking his head through the door in a somewhat cautious manner. Meaning that his friend Ja-far must have had a little talk with him.

 _Wonderful. Now I can't catch the bastard by surprise._ She thought as he slowly entered the cabin and softly closed the door behind him.

"Ja-far told me that you asked some questions about some things." He said almost tentatively as he inched further into the room, acting like he expected her to do something absolutely horrible to him. Which was tempting. Very, _very_ tempting considering that he had married her without her permission. However as long as her shoulder was injured, she couldn't do squat.

For the moment anyways.

"Yeah, he told me about my new station, our secret _marriage_ \- By the way, when were you going to tell me that we were married? Before or after I decided I liked someone else?" Her tone was a mite on the snippy side considering how pissed she was about the whole thing, but not totally out of line.

Her husband however seemed to take exception to the last part of her question. Apparently the thought of her finding any other male sexually attractive was something that caused the man to become a mite angry.

"First of all, I would have informed you once you settled into you're role within the palace. Secondly- you will not find any males aside from myself attractive in the least. I refuse to have an unfaithful wife." He growled out as he glared at her for a moment before realizing that he wasn't making things any easier on either of them, and sighed before saying in a more calm and placating tone, "I was going to attempt to woo you before I said anything. That way you would still have at least the illusion of choice."

"Why? Why bother? You obviously have what you want. My wishes mean nothing to you. So why bother trying to woo me _now_ of all times?" Mya asked in a peeved tone.

Sinbad cast her a calculating look as he moved to sit down in his chair again, his honey gold eyes taking in Mya's tense form sitting on the bed before he said in a more gentle tone, "Because I want you to be happy here." Mya gaped at him as if he had just grown a second head or something.

Her mind trying to sort out his last reply as she practically shrieked at him. _"You want me to be happy! You married me without my permission when I'm from a place where women aren't answerable to anyone but ourselves! We choose our own husbands! We work for a living and serve in the military! And you demean everything I was raised to believe. And you want me to be fucking happy! Are you insane?!"_

Sinbad winced slightly at the loud sound of her voice, though part of him was greatly impressed she could take such a tone so easily for someone with such a soft voice. Still... His woman had a point, he supposed. Though he was loath to admit it. "Ow! How can someone with such a softly pitched voice reach such shrill volumes?" He snapped as he covered his ears with his hands before growling at her, "And no I'm not insane. And what the hell do you mean by I demean everything that you were raised to believe? I don't understand."

"That's because you're an ancient, backwards thinking idiot!" Mya snarled at him as she picked up one of the dishes on her tray and without warning threw it at his head. Shattering the dish as it hit the wall just a few inches above his head and sending soup splattering all over both Sinbad and the wall.


	43. Chapter 43

Sinbad stood perfectly still as he stared at his Queen through flashing narrowed eyes, his sensual lips pressed together in a thin line as soup slid down his temple to his cheek before dripping onto his shirt and collar bone. Having been the object of many a woman's ire, Sinbad was certainly no stranger to feminine violence.

After all, he had had a mother. _Once_. Jealous lovers- far too many times to bother counting. And of course the somewhat _occasional_ princess seeking to trap him into marriage.

But he could normally escape such situations unscathed. This situation however greatly differed from the others due to the fact that the one angry with him was now tied to him through bonds of marriage. And everyone knew the only way to truly escape a wife- was through death. Either theirs or your own. And while he wasn't all that keen to waste his life, he wasn't exactly keen on wasting Mya's either since she had already proved to be invaluable to him.

Even if she didn't know, like or even realize that fact just yet.

Leaving him with only one course of action, stand his ground and hope she didn't hurt his pride too badly.

Glaring at her as he lifted a hand to wipe at the barely warm liquid that had spattered his face, neck and hair he growled out in a less than pleased tone, "Are you a child? Is that why you are throwing a tantrum like one?"

"No. Now how about you shut the hell up, and think about someone's wants and needs before your own for once," She spat at him in a manner that reminded him very much of a wet kitten. Hissing and spitting in displeasure. "Besides, you should be grateful that I missed on purpose so that I wouldn't physically hurt you. God knows you certainly have given me enough of a reason to. Besides... I don't believe in using physical violence to harm others."

Sinbad stared at her for a moment before saying, "Oh?" He found that fact more than a little hard to believe after her little tantrum. And simply wasn't sure what to say about how at odds her nature was with her beliefs.

He should have just called her a hypocrite and left it at that. But he had no true desire to push her temper any further this day. However his Queen apparently wasn't finished speaking and decided to reply to his earlier response to her words.

"Yeah. Why use physical violence when I can use psychological torture and simply emasculate you with just my words." She said with a creepy little smile that had him quickly jumping up out of his seat and slamming his back against the wall and pulling at the chair in a lame attempt to place it between himself and her despite the fact that she hadn't bothered moving from the bed even though she _was_ watching him rather closely.

 _Almost as if she's_ \- _Oh shit!_ He thought as she shifted and slowly got off of the bed causing all action on his part, both outward and inwards to totally freeze as she walked over to him and used one foot to kick the chair out from in front of him and then reached out and grasped his thick long hair in her small hand and sighed almost tiredly.

"I got you pretty good with that soup, huh." She said more to herself than him before releasing his hair and stepping back and crooking her finger at him as she made her way over to the soapy water in the tub. "Come on. I'll help you clean up and wash your hair." He eyed her warily for a moment, trying to figure out what she was up to now as she dropped to her knees next to the tub and patiently waited for him to join her.

And after several minutes of weighing his options, Sinbad sighed and made his way over to the tub and slipped the top half of his robes off so that he wouldn't get them wet. Missing the sly smirk that curved his wife's lips as she continued to patiently wait for him to settle and become comfortable.

Once he unbound his hair and settled himself so that his head and shoulders were over the rim of the tub it took a moment- but he realized his mistake. However before he could so much as react he felt her small hand on the back of his head and heard Mya say in an jovial tone, _"Remember, deep breaths."_ A mere moment before his head was forced under water.


	44. Chapter 44

**Hello my dears, before we get to the latest chapter of this story- a quick word.**

 **I've been getting a lot of reviews from people wanting longer chapters, however, seeing as I can't write longer chapters at the moment due to stress because of my dad's upcoming heart surgery, insomnia, epilepsy and my usual horrible health- I'm doing what I can when I can.**

 **So even though I know you want new and longer chapters, please bear with me and stop making me feel even more like crap for letting you down.**

 _ **Please...**_ **(******************************************************************************************************************************)**

 _Idoit._ Mya thought as she removed her hand from his head almost as quickly as she had pushed Sinbad's head under water, knowing that while her joke was somewhat questionable- he might actually think she was after his life. And despite how angry she still was, she refused to become a murderer at this stage in their non existent marriage/relationship.

Besides, if she really wanted him dead she'd make him suffer first. Like really, really suffer.

Like the kind of suffering she'd seen her mother do to her father once. Even now the whole experience made her shake her head and wonder why the woman didn't just put a leash on him if she was so worried about him being unfaithful.

After all feeding one's husband laxatives every week or so for almost two months wasn't exactly considered nice, but it wasn't exactly frowned upon either as long as one was careful enough not to give him too much. Especially since too much could do irreversible harm or even kill him.

Come to think of it, she might be able to find something medicinal to slip him to give him the runs or something every other week. Not much mind you, but just enough to make the man miserable until her ire wore off.

Yeah that seemed like it could help her work out her frustrations.

And she only had to do it long enough to scare him a little since it wasn't like she could strangle him or anything. So now that she had a plan, she'd have to be sneaky to carry it out due to his status. Not that that was much of an issue since he married her and made her his unwilling Queen.

Yup, her sneaky and devious plan to take her frustrations out on her husband were definitely already working in her favor.

Sinbad jerked himself upright, so that his head broke the surface an took several _deep_ , gasping breaths as he turned his head to stare at his Queen through wide somewhat terror stricken eyes. He sputtered and coughed as he brought a hand up to wipe at his face before shooting Mya a glare and hissing out from between clenched teeth.

"Y-You tried to drown me."

It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him that if that had actually been the case, he'd be dead now. But wisely kept that comment from being spoken before saying, "Hardly. Your hair is really long and thick and I've only got one hand. So wetting it thoroughly would have been a pain. Besides, I told you to take deep breaths for a reason. It's not my fault you panicked."

Sinbad scowled at her for a moment. Then opened his mouth to say something scathing to her, but upon thinking things over, shut his mouth and simply huffed at her unsure as to her true motives as she smiled at him and held out the jar of shampoo so that he could get what he needed to wash his hair.

Once he had enough in one hand, he began working the soap into a lather from roots to tip and cast Mya several calculating glances while she wasn't paying attention.

He knew that she had been lying about when she had held his head under water. Part of her had fully intended to drown him, however for reasons he didn't quite understand- she had stopped herself almost as suddenly as she had began. This worried him.

He'd known that she likely wouldn't be terribly happy with him once she found out about their being married. But he had hoped that her anger wouldn't be so great. Deciding to play along with whatever ruse she was putting on for him until he could get her bodyguard to spy for him, he absent mindedly said, "You- didn't eat much... Are you feeling well?"

"As well as I can be considering the circumstances." Mya replied as she filled the medium sized bucked that Ja-far had used earlier while she had bathed to help her rinse herself, with water. Wincing a bit when the heaviness of it caused her to jostle her wounded shoulder. Causing it to throb painfully as she struggled for a moment before finally managing to set the bucket aside for Sinbad's use.

Once that was done, she used her free hand to try and massage the pain away while Sinbad watched her quietly for another moment or so before grabbing the bucket that she'd filled with water and leaned over the side of the tub and began to rinse his long hair of the soap.

Upon finishing that particular task, Sinbad sat back on his heels and started to wring some of the water from his tresses as he said in a somewhat gentler tone than before, "Perhaps you should rest a while longer."

Mya stopped trying to dull the pain in her shoulder and looked at him through suddenly dull, tired eyes. "Yeah. Maybe just for a while longer." She agreed, suddenly feeling too out of sorts to bother arguing or fighting any longer.

Sinbad nodded his head somberly as she unsteadily got to her feet and had to reach out and place a hand against her side as he smoothly got to his feet and carefully helped direct her back to the bed and moved the tray that he had brought before letting her lay down.


	45. Chapter 45

Sinbad watched in curiosity as Mya fell asleep the second her head hit the pillow. He'd never seen anyone but Aladdin fall asleep so quickly. But then the boy was usually emotionally exhausted, much like Mya was now. Why else would she have fallen asleep with him still alive and relatively intact? If a little shaken from her earlier attempt on his life...

Shaking his head, he then tucked the soft sheets and blanket, up around her slender shoulder's and then hied himself from the cabin with tray in hand.

He needed to rethink how to handle his Queen.

For the time being, he'd give her some space so that she'd become a bit more reasonable. And since he wouldn't be by her side until she calmed- he felt it in his best interest to have one or two others take over his bedside vigilance for him. But who? He wondered as he slipped out of the cabin only to find Ja-far had rallied the other generals and was giving them each orders as his second in command.

"We need a coffin. Not just any coffin- but a royal one. It has to be silk lined in the colors of Sinbad's royal house. Then we'll need three chests of gold, three of silver, and ten of bronze coins. His royal sword-"

"What about flowers?" Pitsi asked curiously as she waved one hand in the air.

"Yes flowers! Everyone in the kingdom should have bundles of lilies for our departed-" Masrur cleared his throat subtly in an effort to get Ja-far to stop. However the younger man was so far gone in his own thoughts that their Queen had probably murdered their king by now that he couldn't stop himself from planning out Sinbad's funeral.

Until- of course Sinbad walked up and practically smashed the tray of food over Ja-far's head to gain his attention. Startled from his thoughts, Ja-far looked up at his king and started to say happily, _"Your alive!"_ But stopped himself when he saw the narrow eyed look that his king was giving him before stating very plainly.

"You're out." He would not have Ja-far stay with Mya. Lord knew what she might try to manipulate the man into doing to him if he put them in the same room together for any real length of time.

For all he knew, the two would declare war on him or something. And while it might be a tad bit amusing to see what his Queen may come up with, Ja-far tended to come up with things made of nightmares.

And Sinbad didn't want to deal with him or his hellish ideas. Nor did he want him putting anything of the like in Mya's head. After all, she may actually manage to kill him with some of them if he allowed it. So yes, Ja-far was out as far as keeping her company.

And while he had other generals to choose from, he had already decided on Masrur and Hinahoho. Seeing them as the two least likely to help Mya get into any sort of mischief while she was wounded. Besides, Hinahoho hadn't come clean about his part in how she had become injured and taken his punishment from her just yet.

Sighing because of the headache he was beginning to develop, he handed the tray of food off to one of the others and then called the two men over and discussed with them what they would be doing for the next few days, hoping that it would give Mya's ire enough time to fully run it's course.

He was a fool for thinking she may forgive him so easily...

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Later that evening- Kouen had come by the cabin a few hours ago to report directly to Mya on the health of the men that her methods had saved. And though she hadn't been able to help many of them personally due to her injury, he also wanted to personally inquire about how she was doing and see if she needed anything.

Hinahoho had been the one to answer the king of the Kou empire, and though his tone had been light and fairly polite his expression and the hard look in his eyes had spoke volumes. The warrior _hated_ this man and would kill him the first chance he got.

Queen or not. Mya was still his adopted daughter and he would protect her.

Masrur however, sensing Hina's bloodlust, had carefully placed himself between the giant and Kouen and gave a more diplomatic reply, "We thank you for you're concern. If our lady needs anything, we will let you know." It was a lie of course. Even Kouen knew that much since he knew the men wanted him nowhere near the girl. But at least it was somewhat nicer than Hina's 'fuck off'.

Kouen had left then, gently closing the door behind him and then making his way back to his younger brother's cabin where he would stay until the boy awoke.

It was about an hour or so after sun set when Mya began to finally stir from her sleep and awkwardly pushed herself up into a sitting position on the bed and took a moment to look around.

What's his name, Sinbad, was gone. And in his place was the blue haired giant and the red haired guy that she'd asked if she could keep because he was good friend material. Come to think of it- she wondered if either man knew of her conversation with the guy in green when she had been bathing? She wondered upon reaching full wakefulness.

Judging by their expressions she would say that the answer was either 'no' or they were just incredibly good at hiding what they thought. "Hey guys." She said, trying to sound more energetic that she actually felt but her tone came out sounding depressed instead. Making her flinch a bit.

 _Damn_. She always hated sounding like she was depressed when she wasn't. It always gave the impression that the wind itself could shatter her to bits and blow them away.

Or at least that's what her grandpa had told her once.

Apparently the two noted her tone an automatically moved to either side of the bed, the giant taking one side where he sat down on the edge of the feather stuffed mattress and reached out for her uninjured hand so that he could hold it while Masrur simply stood next to her, well within arms reach just in case he felt the need to reach out and touch her hair or something else in a comforting manner.

"How are you feeling little one?" Hinahoho asked as he held her tiny hand in his, her hand felt so fragile and breakable to him. Much like the woman herself, yet he couldn't stop himself from asking. Though he knew that the chances were good that neither he nor his friend would like the answer.

Mya sighed, her anger having long died down after her sudden attempt on her new husband's life leaving her with only one course of action left.

"I want to go home." She said in the firmest tone she could muster at that very moment. It didn't sound very convincing even to her own ears but well, there it was in a nutshell.

She wanted to go home. Away from this strange place and it's people. She didn't want to be married. She wanted to be free. The two men however misunderstood her request, obviously thinking that she wished to return to the palace. "When you're a bit better we'll take you home." Masrur said softly as she tipped her head back to look at him for a moment before realizing what he meant and retorting as she pulled her hand free of Hinahoho's grip.

"Yeah, well I don't believe you." After which she laid back down, missing the hurt looks on both men's faces as she closed her eyes and pulled the covers up over her head to hide the fact that she was about to cry.


	46. Chapter 46

It had been about thirty minutes since their lady had snapped at them in a disappointed tone, "I want to go home." And "I don't believe you."

Thirty minutes since she had lain back down and pulled the covers up over her head. Thirty _long_ damned minutes since he had started to scent the smell of water and salt and pain coming from the slight figure of his lady Queen, and the fanilis was finally beginning to get twitchy.

His need and instinct to sooth and comfort the young woman was beginning to override his common sense of all that was proper. Several times already Hina had spied him walking back over to the bed where his lady rested so that he could stretch out behind her and hold her as she slept.

And several times, he'd had to stop himself from doing so despite his instinct to do so. If Hina, as her adopted father- so much as thought he was trying to make an innappropriate move towards Mya- he'd throw his ass out of the cabin via the small window in the wall.

Not to mention that doing so would be considered as a challenge to Sinbad for her as a mate. Which he couldn't do. His king had claimed the girl. He had no right to her. Logically he knew this but...

Even now after her breathing had finally evened out with slumber, he could still scent tears and pain until finally with a low feral sounding growl, he hissed- "I need air." And practically had to throw Hinahoho out of his way so that he could just reach the damn door to leave.

There were two reasons for him to leave. One was the issue of his sanity. Another was his lady's unhappiness. Both of which needed to be reported to his king. _Immediately._ The fact that he was in a round about way disobeying his king's earlier orders meant nothing to him.

After all, it wasn't as if he had left his lady completely alone in her vulnerable state. Hina was still watching over her. And would continue to do so until his return, he thought as he tracked his king's scent along with everyone else's to the ship's kitchen where he found Sin sitting on one of the benches with a goblet of wine before him.

The look on his face thoughtful as everyone spoke in low tones amongst themselves until Saprta noticed him hovering just a bit in the doorway and reached across the table to rap his knuckles on the table in front of Sin, drawing his king's attention to him as he pointed towards where Masrur stood.

"Masrur? Is everything alright?" Sinbad asked as he snapped out of his thoughts enough to notice that the man looked slightly troubled and straightened his spine so that he wasn't slouching like Ja-far always bitched at him about whenever he was either thinking or depressed.

"I need to speak with you about our lady." Masrur said as he stepped into the kitchen and began the conversation with his king.

(**************************************************************************************************************************)

Mya still felt drowsy when she finally woke up again, her thoughts going over what she had said before she had cried herself to sleep. She hadn't meant to sound like such a- a well, _bitch._ After all, she hadn't intended to cause any hurt. But honestly what did these people expect from her?

A woman could only stand so much before she became overwhelmed. And after her little cry and grabbing a nap- she felt a bit more clear minded now. Which meant that she needed to think of her next move.

She spent several moments just laying there with her head hidden under the covers of the bed when she felt the sudden dip in the mattress and felt the covers tugged gently down away from her face and blinked up at the face of the giant before he said coaxingly, "You should wake now. You need to eat."

She didn't say anything, she simply nodded and let him help her sit up and lean back a bit against the headboard as he grabbed the tray of food that Sinbad had had sent a few minutes ago for her and laid it across her lap and waited for her to begin eating before removing himself from her side to return to his post across the room.

She ate quietly for several moments before stopping and setting her fork aside, figuring that she should at least apologize for her behavior earlier. After all, she hadn't meant to act like she had. But finding herself thrust into the situation she currently found herself in was beyond overwhelming to her.

And when she got overwhelmed by things, she tended to long for the safety of the familiar. Home was familiar. Thus she longed for home but it didn't necessarily mean that she couldn't live without it. She would miss it- due to the memories it held for her. Both good and bad.

But again, she could live without it if need be. And it was beginning to look more and more as if she would have to live without it. What with her being married now and all.

The mattress dipped again under the weight of the giant as he once again sat down on the bed next to her and asked curiously, "Do you want something else to eat? I can go get something it if you do."

"Huh? Oh no. The food is fine," Mya said with a slight shake of her head as she looked down at her meal. It was pretty nice for something from the ancient times but then, just because people knew nothing of modern five star restaurants didn't mean that they didn't know how to cook. Because they did. Especially whoever had prepared this meal for from the carefully seasoned and roasted pheasant to the steamed vegetables had been cooked to perfection. And the fruits and sweet cream that had been set aside for her to eat as dessert had been fixed perfectly too. Such things took time and careful planning and thought. "I was just thinking, I owe you and your friend an apology about what I said before."

Hina blinked at her, careful not to show his surprise at her words as he studied her for a second before responding, "No. You don't owe us anything."

"You're wrong. I said what I said before because...I think between coming here, and everything that's happened so far- plus learning that I'm married to a guy that I don't even know- I'm feeling overwhelmed. And because of that I long for things that are familiar to me. B-Because I'm kind of scared of what'll happen next."

Hina sighed and reached out to take one of her tiny hands in his before he bothered to respond, "It's okay to be afraid. To long for things that are familiar to you and bring you comfort. It's okay to worry about what will happen next and to feel overwhelmed, because those feelings will in time pass. The man you are married too is strong, and fierce and brave- I know that you have gotten off to a bit of a rough start, but don't hold his mistakes against him-"

"Oh I'm not anymore. I had initially planned to do something nasty to him, but I figure that I can take care of any ill feelings once I'm healed and move on from there. He is my husband now after all, and I don't want to spend the rest of my life miserable. So I'll just have to make the best of things and see what happens from there."

Hina smiled at his adopted daughter and nodded his head in agreement and then released her hand and told her to continue eating before her meal got cold.

Mya nodded and picked up her fork again and began eating as the giant once again moved back to his place across the room and sat down.

(*****************************************************************************************************************************)

Outside Mya's cabin Sinbad stood with his back to the door, his head slightly turned as he listened to Mya's conversation with Hinahoho. Across from him stood Masrur and Ja-far, both of whom were also listening in on Mya's conversation with Hina. The two men both wore expression's of relief.

Especially after earlier's conversation.

Sinbad's reaction to what Masrur had reported to him hadn't been good. Not by a long shot. But now that they had heard her little talk with Hinahoho, perhaps Sin could rest a little easier.

Sin closed his eyes and let out a shuddering breath as he let himself relax for the first real time in hours. _So she intends to make the best of things..._ It would seem that his chosen bride was far stronger than he had anticipated.

That was good to know.


	47. Chapter 47

Several uneventful days passed since the day that Mya had lashed out and told Hinahoho and Masrur that she wished to return home. And in that time, Hinahoho finally told her of how she came to be injured while Ja-far and Sinbad had come for a small visit and to make sure that all was still going well.

Each of them had expected her to be furious with Hina for what he had done. Perhaps even to lash out again, however she surprised them by shrugging it off and telling Hina that it was fine.

Damn near sending both Sin and Ja-far into fits of shock that they likely would have a very difficult time recovering from.

Yes, the past several days had been fairly pleasant. But that all came to an abrupt halt after Mya had spent two more days in bed, recovering from her wound before getting up and finally deciding to do some work and decided to go and treat and check on Kouen's sick men.

Something that hadn't boded well with the king of Sindrya, however after the tongue lashing he'd received from his bride the other day when she had learned of her marital state- well, he was more than a little reluctant to get in her way again. Still...he couldn't exactly say that he was happy to see her up and on her feet when she should be resting.

But with Hinahoho and Ja-far and Masrur dogging her steps every time she moved, he supposed that he would just sit back and watch how she reacted to things as they happened.

Making himself comfortable in a nice sunny spot on deck close to where his other generals were sitting about, he leaned back against the side of a cabin wall and followed her with his honey colored eyes.

She was dressed in a beautiful lavender purple dress today. Her long hair hung down over one of her shoulders from a somewhat lopsided pony tail where a pretty lavender colored ribbon and some pearls had been woven into a thick braid and then tied off.

She hadn't bothered with jewelry this day, he noted with a touch of disappointment, since he had purchased an ivory chest full of silver and gold and amethyst pieces of jewelry that he would have loved to see her wear with her dress. Not only that- but the blasted woman wasn't wearing any shoes either, he noted. This time with a touch of irritation as he shifted from his reclining position to lean forward as his eyes narrowed at the very sight of her small bare feet.

 _Blasted woman-_ Was she trying to break a toe or something? He wondered as he was about to say something to stop the small group but the sudden flashback of her holding his head under water for a moment, making him think that she was going to actually kill him, flooded his memory and stopped him- causing him to reassess where he was.

On an enemy ship. Out in the open.

 _Where she could shove me overboard!_ His mind told him as she looked his way for a moment and felt the blood freeze in his veins when he caught sight of _that same smile_ she'd had when she'd held his head under water. His eyes widened a bit as he visibly paled at the sight of that sweet smile as she turned away from him and slipped into the area she had been going too.

Kouen's younger brother's cabin.

Apparently she was going to check on the boy.

That was fine, Sinbad's panicked mind thought as he decided to get up and move a bit closer to his generals. After seeing that smile of her's he just knew that she was planning something _horrible_ for him and was feeling more than a little scared of being left alone.

(******************************************************************************************************************************)

Mya walked into the faintly lit medium sized cabin where the sick teenager had been and found two pairs of red eyes fixated on her upon her entrance to the room. "Queen Mya," Kouen said as he gracefully got out of his seat and stood to show respect to the young woman whom Sinbad had married. "Shouldn't you still abed resting?" He asked politely as he studied her.

Some of the color was back in her face, and she was freshly bathed and dressed. So she must be feeling a bit better. Either that of the girl was much like him and hid her discomfort to ease the minds of others. He supposed it could be a bit of both since he knew her wound still had to be paining her since several days was not nearly enough time to heal such a deep wound.

Even with the magic of his djinn, a few days was not nearly enough time for a near fatal injury to heal. So she must be used to concealing pain. "I couldn't lay around anymore. I've been worrying for days about everyone that was still sick, so I thought I'd come and see how he was doing before I head below decks."

"I thank you for your concern, Queen Mya, however there is no longer any need for such concern. While you've been injured I used what I could from what I saw of you're treatments to help my men. Thanks to that, I only lost five more before everyone else's fever's broke. They have each been checked over repeatedly by one of Sinbad's palace healer's and are doing well. I've had each of them removed from below decks until it can be properly cleansed since it now houses the bodies of those who died."

"It is my wish to attempt to return their bodies to their families if I can." Kouen said. Mya stayed silent for several minutes, her mind playing over his words before she said.

"I know that it is a noble endeavor to try and return the dead to their homeland and their families for burial. But I'm afraid that you can't do that. The illness that those men carried can still be caught even now. If you wish to return them to their families, burn their bodies to ash and place the ashes in jars with their name's, ranking, and give them words to honor the men and their families for serving you so faithfully."

Kouen looked slightly taken aback by her words, though he had thought of the possibility of not being able to return his men to their homeland for burial. It was an especially tough pill to swallow when this was pointed out to him by another person, especially this young woman. But deep down he knew that she had a point.

"Is there no other way?" The boy sitting on the bed asked her in a low tone, causing her to blink at him. _Oh that's right_ , she thought. He was the one that she had originally come to see. How could she forget that? Giving the boy a small, pained smile- she slowly shook her head no and then told them that taking the infected bodies back with them would only cause more death. She told them of just how many she knew the illness had killed- entire countries wiped out by it because no one had thought to take such precautionary measures.

And by the time she finished speaking, the final choice was made. She told Kouen that she would speak with Sinbad about holding a military funeral for the men so that when he took their ashes back to his country he could say that they had full military honors granted to them.

Kouen was grateful of her understanding and compassion and after staying a little longer to check up on his brother as she had intended, she left the cabin so that the two brothers could plan out what they needed and went in search of her husband.

(*********************************************************************************************************************************)

The moment Sinbad saw his wife leave prince Kouha's cabin, he pressed himself against the nearest person close to him. Which unfortunately turned out to be Sharrkan. The swords master's voice trailed off from the conversation he'd been having as he turned his head to look at his king and then asked in a cheerful, but annoying tone. "What cha doing?"

"Getting close."

"Why?"

"Mya is coming this way."

"So?" The uncompassionate cad had the audacity to say to him.

"So? So! I-I," Sinbad's voice trailed off as fear kicked in and he muttered. "Don't want to die..."

Sharrkan smirked evilly and stood up and grabbed his king and jerked him to his feet and pretty much tossed him to the wolf herself. Honestly if the man's sword skills weren't so top notch, Sinbad would have him strung up by his balls!

Finding himself face to face with his wife was one thing. But suddenly hearing the overly chipper words and seeing that terrifyingly sweet smile on her lips as she said, "Let's go for a small walk, shall we?" And before the fact that he was being led over to the side of the side even registered with him, she had him half way over the side of the ship and by the time he registered the fact that he was falling- he didn't even have time to scream before he hit the churning waves below.


	48. Chapter 48

Sinbad cast his bride and somewhat dark glower at his amused Queen as she continued to snicker at him while he rang out his waist length hair and heavy royal clothing. "Well..." He began to say something snide to Mya but his words died on his tongue when she cut him off by saying in a suddenly somber tone,

"I'm sorry, but that was the least you deserved for marrying me without my knowing." He stared at her for a moment and then abruptly shut his mouth. Conceding that she had- at least- that point. Then she surprised him by asking, "I didn't hurt you doing that did I?" Causing Sin's narrow eyed stare to widen considerably at the concerned note he heard in her tone.

"If you were worried about hurting me, then you should not have tossed me overboard." He said sternly as he finished ringing out his over shirt before taking a moment to slip it and his under shirt from his broad shoulders, missing the way Mya studied the way his muscles moved under his bronze colored skin before his eyes flickered to his Queen again as he said slowly if not a little awkwardly, "Well, either way- If you've managed to get whatever animosity you hold towards me out of you're system, then I think it is time we speak...about _us_."

Mya nodded her head in agreement and moved to sit across from him on the deck of the ship while his generals all moved to someplace behind him and to the... _left_? A little bit, maybe- so that they could eavesdrop on his talk with his wife and perhaps see her toss him overboard again.

 _The traitors._ He thought as he waited for Mya to become comfortable before speaking again, "I'm sure that you're curious about what I wish to discuss-"

"Not really." She said politely as she folded her hands in her lap. For all appearances, seeming as if she were the very picture of calm and serenity. "I imagine it has to do with what's expected of me as you're Queen. Running your house hold and country if you should have to leave to trade with a foreign country or discuss politics or wage wars. Oh! And heirs. I can't forget that. Every king should have at least a dozen or more just in case something happens. Like famine, disease, accidents, or even assassinations. Am I right?" She concluded her little one sided conversation with a peppy smile that just flat out took the wind out of his sails.

Metaphorically speaking of course.

Sin gave her an equally peppy smile as he rested an elbow on one of his knees and then placed his chin in his palm and considered his wife with a sly smirk. "Yes. I did wish to speak of those things. And you are right- we should have a dozen little ones or more-" At which point Ja-far let out an outraged yell from behind him, interrupting his talk with Mya.

" _Don't you dare even think of it!_ You are having one child- You hear me? _ONE!_ "

Both Mya and Sinbad glanced in the direction of the fuming green eyed man before looking back at each other and smirking evilly, for once their thoughts were along the same lines.

"He'll act as the heir's royal nanny."

Mya shrugged her slender shoulders and only got a little movement from her injured one before cringing and bringing her hand up to hold the sore area. Ow. _Ow_ , that hurt. She thought as she rubbed the still tender area gently with her hand, catching Sin's eyes with the movement.

"Still hurt?" He asked, concern coloring his tone as he regarded her from underneath his long bangs. She made a soft humming sound and shifted around a bit where she sat before settling down.

"Yeah."

"You should rest more." He suggested kindly and tilted his head a bit to the side when he heard a peculiar half laugh, half snort come from her.

"If I stayed in bed any longer people would think I was dying. No, I prefer to be of use even if I can only do a little at a time."

Sinbad studied her for several moments before smiling and nodding his head in understanding. He himself absolutely _hated_ not being able to help others when they asked for him too. He hated it so bad that he had the insane tendency to step in where he wasn't wanted or needed in an effort to help others. Thus winding up stepping on toes.

Which usually caused an political disaster of one kind or another.

Casting a thoughtful glance Mya's way, Sin debated on what to do now. She'd pretty much covered everything fairly important that they needed to speak of at the moment. Even if it was half jokingly done. And though she was still injured, she stubbornly refused to stay abed any longer. So should he see if she wished to go out and about? Perhaps to the market where all the trading was done?

He was still dying to take her there and spoil her. Plus since Sindrya was to be her home from now on she needed to learn specifics about running the country. And what better way to do so than to go to the market and get some hands on experience?

Besides, he still needed to court the woman. Didn't he? And if she was feeling up to being up and moving around then why not take her to see some of the sights while he planned out his next move.

Slowly getting to his feet, he towered over his wife by almost two in a half feet. Her head barely reaching his shoulders, he noted with a vague sense of amusement- after all this tiny little gal had managed to not only man handle him but pretty much toss him over the side of Kouen's ship- and held a hand out to her as he said, "Well, if you're feeling up to it- since you don't want to stay in bed like a normal person. Why not try to get to know me and my people a bit? I've been dying to take you to the local market and show you off."

It was probably the wrong way to phrase his words since it made her sound like an prized horse of new piece of furniture or something. He could almost sense his generals all cringing. Especially those of them with wives of their own back at the palace.

However Mya didn't seem to take any offense as she slipped her small hand into his own and let him pull her to her feet. Once upright again, she carefully retracted her hand from his own and smoothed any wrinkles from her dress as she inwardly seethed at his words.

Show her off.

The son of a bitch wanted to show her off! Like a newly purchased brood mare or something? Was he an idiot? She wondered as she cast a glance in the direction of his men, all of whom wore pained expressions of varying degree's since they obviously were able to read her much easier than her new husband.

 _The ninny-_ She thought darkly as she gave him a sunny smile and replied, "I would love for you to show me around and get to know you some." And while they were at the market she was going to look into finding some ingredient's for making her own special brand of itching powder.

After all, just because she was married to him- and likely would be for a long, long while- didn't mean that she couldn't make him see the error of his ways every time he stepped out of line. Now did it?


	49. Chapter 49

"This is amazing. " Mya said in astonishment as she looked around her as Sin smiled down at her in obvious amusement, having been the one who laid the very foundation for the trader's to come here for business- he was a proud man when it came to his own handy work.

The market was bustling with so much activity that Mya could barely process everything she smelled and saw. There were traders with silks, satins, linens, and cottons from all over the place. There were trader with food and expensive mulled wines and other drinks. People with foods from all over the world.

Trader's with expensive weapons, jewelry and chests made of carved semi precious gems and ect.

There was so much that she wasn't sure where exactly to start her exploration until she felt a large hand lightly take her own and blinked up at Sinbad's handsome face as he tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow in an old fashioned sort of way- he began to escort her along from one place to another. Letting her look at everything she found of interest until she came across something that she simply refused to leave alone.

Rolling his eyes and chuckling softly to himself at her typical female behavior, Sinbad found himself purchasing a chest and filling it with every item that caught her eye.

From clothing, to slippers, to a gem studded dagger (which he swore to himself to take from her later- for safety issues) some jewelry- that both of them had picked out- along with some fruits and herbs that he assumed were for medicinal purposes since Mya refused to tell him what they were for.

They spent a fair amount of time walking around and letting her explore before Mya stopped him with a tug on his sleeve, earning a curious look from him as she asked, "Um, I'm kind of getting hungry. And I'm sure you and everyone else might be too- is there a place near by where we can go and eat and rest a bit? A tavern maybe?"

"Oh, yes of course-" Sin said, admitting to silently to himself that they had been out and about for quite some time and it was indeed getting somewhat on the late side. Meaning food and rest would be sorely needed by himself as well as his wife _and_ his men.

However he was a tad bit leery of taking his new wife to an actual tavern. Especially since sailors, soldier's and flesh peddler's tended to frequent such places looking for beautiful young girl's and women to steal away from their homes and force into prostitution.

However he _did_ think that since he was the king of Sindrya and Mya was with him and his general's that perhaps, maybe, she might be safe. After all, it wasn't as if she would be left alone for any length of time with any strangers. "There should be one just up ahead. We can get food and drink there and rest up some after our excursion."

"Alright." She said with a small smile before peeking over her shoulder to look at his general's whom had all been following closely behind the pair ever since they had left Kouen's ship earlier that morning. Casually observing the two.

And they had to admit, despite the rocky start to their relationship- the king and queen, both, were such a striking pair when they stood side by side. Sinbad's with his flawless sun golden kissed skin, honey colored eyes and dark colored hair. And their lady with her flawless ivory skin, pale green eyes and silvery blond hair.

Leaning towards Hinahoho a bit, Masrur was the general to break the odd silence between everyone as Sin led them all through the packed streets towards the tavern. "Their children will be very sought after for their looks whether they are male or female." Something that had everyone but Ja-far groaning in any form of protest.

Hina, like everyone else could only stand idle and imagine Sin and Mya's children and the weird adventures the lot would get themselves into before someone came to their rescue.


	50. Chapter 50

It took several more minutes, but finally the king, Mya and the others reached the tavern. And automatically the generals were sensing serious trouble ahead for their king as every female of marriageable age all ceased what they were doing to turn and greet Sinbad.

 _By name._ Something that the oblivious man didn't notice bothered his wife who fell back from Sinbad's side to watch as he was practically swarmed with big titted bimbo's whom all took turns- touching him and pressing up against his body in a way that would be considered seductive or enticing.

Mya noted as she observed the way Sinbad let them cozy up to him with a bit of shock that turned to flat out rage. _Just_ _who in the hell did those tramps think they had their sleazy mit's all over?!_ She thought with a slight narrowing of her eyes. Any traces of her usually laid back and easy going attitude were suddenly gone, right along with any self confidence and feelings that perhaps she could make things work with the man.

After all she had said she would try, hadn't she?

Besides, she may be a stranger to this place and the customs of it's people... And yeah- she would be the first to admit- she was in an unwanted marriage. But dammit there was only so much that a girl's pride could take. And right here, serving as a witness to her new husband's giggling ad flirting harem of whores- well, let's just say that she had reached her limit.

And just to make sure that she didn't actually try to kill the man this time- after all, there were over more than a dozen witnesses she'd have to kill as well- she turned on her heel and without so much as a glance or a word to anyone, left.

If she could not expect fidelity in her marriage then the man wasn't worth her time or efforts. She told herself as she began to weave her way back to King Kouen's ship since it was the only place that truly felt like home to her at the moment. Not knowing that the eight generals watched her leave with something akin to hatred for their king beginning to burn in their hearts and minds.

Hinahoho sighed at his young king's foolish nature before saying. "Masrur. Go after our lady and make sure that she reaches her destination safely." The red head turned his head only slightly to glance at him in acknowledgement before he quickly and stealthily vanished after his Queen.

Ja-far let out a low growl of annoyance before hissing, "I can't believe that Sin would do something so disgraceful!" _And_ _in front of Mya too._ His mind tacked on though he didn't say the words outright.

Sharrkan shrugged his shoulders as he observed his king and the gaggle of women. Sinbad was obviously enjoying the attention otherwise he would have removed them from his person by now regardless of their antics. "What do you expect from a womanizer?"

"Not this!" Pitsi spat out as she crossed her arms over her small breasts and glared at each woman surrounding her king, and wished, oh god did she wish- that each of them would suddenly and very mysteriously suffer from sever animal maimings! Honestly, the little hussies had no right to touch the king- a married man- in such an overly familiar and vulgar way!

They didn't have that right anymore!

Touching Sin was Queen Mya's job now, but it wasn't going to happen anytime soon thanks to the fact that her lady was upset.

Stupid Sinbad.

Stupid whores.

(**************************************************************************************************************************************)

Sinbad laughed as he lightly pushed a woman away by the shoulder's. Careful to keep his hands from any place on her body that was bared or overly, generously, curved.

He had known from the moment he had walked into his favorite tavern that he might have some trouble of the feminine variety. Which was why once all of the girls had gathered around him, he had led them over to his favorite table where he had then told them that he was married now and wouldn't be coming to see them in any- er, lustful endeavors anymore- as he was supposed too as a happily married man.

Earning many hugs and kisses on the cheeks from the women he'd spent many an idle day or night with at one time or another in the past few years.

Happy with that part of his required job being done, he glanced towards the door where his generals and his wife should have been and blinked to find that only seven of his generals stood where they had been left. Each one wearing an expression of either outrage or flat out disappointment.

Blinking his honey colored eyes at them, he then searched for Mya and inwardly cringed when he realized what he had just more or less done.

Christ! Couldn't a man get a break? He wondered as it finally occurred to him that it might have looked to his new bride as if he were being unfaithful to her. Since she didn't yet know him well enough to know that he both wouldn't and couldn't be unfaithful to her, he didn't even bother to get upset with her lack of trust in him and where his loyalty lay.

Instead he merely got to his feet and moved back to where his general's all stood and asked, "Where is my wife?"

"She left when she saw those floozies hanging all over you." Ja-far bit out in a dark tone that merely caused Sin to sigh. One step forward with his wife meant inevitably taking two steps back. What he had planned as being a nice outing for them all was now ruined by Mya's lack of understanding.

"Where did she go?" He hoped she had returned to the palace since he was growing tired of sharing space with Kouen and his men.

His general's all either shrugged their shoulders or looked away and looked nervous. Ah, so that's how it was. Sin thought in slight bemusement when he finally noticed that Masrur was missing from the group. "Where is-"

He was cut of by Hina's tired voice. "He went to follow her and make sure she reached her destination safely."

"I see. Then I suppose it is time we return as well." Sinbad said as he thought, _I have a lot of apologizing and groveling to do._


	51. Chapter 51

Mya had left the winding dirt road around the market, absently trying to recall her way back to the ship while thinking that maybe- maybe she could convince Kouen that she would like to see his country and sort of tour around for a little while.

Who knew, maybe the man would take pity on her and decide to take her along when he left.

She was sure that if she acted natural she might be able to convince her 'husband', and she used the term loosely- _very_ _loosely_ \- to allow her to sate her curiosity of this strange new world she found herself in by making it sound like the other king needed a mediator between their countries to avert war or something. It was sneaky and just a bit underhanded, true, but she couldn't continue to pretend everything was fine when it wasn't.

It was simply wearing too heavily on her conscience.

Perhaps she could even get Kouen to help her out a wee bit more by telling Sinbad this as well.

Sin... God, her womanizing hubby should just drop the 'bad' in his name and go by that instead since everything about his fallen angel masculine beauty practically spelled out sin with a capital S-I-N.

Not that she cared any. Not for the man, his name, his appearance or- She was roughly and rather abruptly snapped out of her wandering thoughts when she was suddenly grabbed up from behind- bridal style, causing her to let out a loud startled scream as she was bought up against a thickly muscled, armored chest by a nearly bone crushing grip that painfully forced the air from her lungs.

She turned her head and could vaguely make out gold armor, white linen, and vivid red hair and eyes. _Masrur?_ He'd been the one to grab her in such a frightening way? _Why? Why would he grab her like that and scare her?_ She wondered as she took in his expression and noted the slightly furious look on his face and almost whimpered as he quickly and swiftly turned on his heel with her still held painfully- firmly in his grasp- and began to walk in the opposite direction of where she had just been.

She might have tried to struggle, might, of course being the operative word- if it were not for the fact that he had yet to let up on his grip. Not only that but his little grab and crush action had hurt her injured shoulder again. The stitches were still in place, thank god, but it didn't stop her shoulder from hurting like hell.

Stopping no more than fifty feet from where she had been before, Masrur finally, slowly, almost at a snail's pace- released his hard grip on her and dropped down to the ground and carefully set her down on a patch of nice cushy green moss and then grasped both of her slender shoulders in his hands and began to run his palms along the length of her arms.

Confusing her for a moment as he did the same motion once, then again for a second time before she realized that he was checking for broken bones or fractures. Possibly something that he may have caused when he had grabbed her. Once he was done and assured himself that she was in one piece, some of the fury she had seen in his expression before, left it.

Some. Not all.

Reaching out and taking her face between his callused palms, he forced her to look him in the eye before growling out. "What did you think you were doing?"

Mya blinked, not understanding what he meant. "I-I was going back to the ship." She stammered out after a second or so. Her answer to his question causing him to frown down at her for a moment before he glanced in the direction he had just carried her from.

Surely she wasn't playing dumb with him. He would not tolerate it.

"You cannot return to the ship from there," He said as he glared at her a bit through slightly narrowed eyes. Mya opened her mouth to ask why but was cut off when he growled out, "There is a very rocky and steep incline there that drops off into the sea. Had you continued to walk that way- you would have fallen and died."

She squeaked, her face going as white as cream, her pretty green eyes widening in panic as she tried to turn her head to look towards where she had been. But with his hands still gripping her, it was a futile endeavor. Still, she didn't totally believe him- until he dropped his hands and allowed her to see what he meant.

Sure enough about fifty feet or so away from where they were now, was indeed a drop off. And she could both smell and hear the ocean. Funny how she hadn't really noticed that until just now. But then she had been rather occupied with thoughts of escape to really pay much attention. _Come to think of it_ \- She thought as she took a moment to look around at the thick grove of exotic plants and trees and frowned.

The current area didn't look familiar to her. Did she take a wrong turn or something? And if so, just how lost was she?

Studying his lady's pale features for several moments of total and utter silence, Masrur wondered if it was possible that she had simply been so upset with his king that she had come here blindly in an effort to either escape or return to the ship that she had simply not been paying any attention to where she was going, thus winding up almost killing herself.

To be honest, he wouldn't doubt his lady of such a thing since she didn't exactly come across as the type of girl to simply take her life without a true reason. And in his opinion, being a shunned lover wasn't a good reason. Not one little bit.

Still...

"Where are we?" Mya suddenly asked, causing him to blink at her. His earlier anger disappearing as if it had never been. It was probably from the shock of hearing her words. The woman had already proved that she had the ability to give one whiplash with her mental gymnastics.

This instance, it would seem, was no different.

"We are an hour away from the market, in the woods. Over by that bluff." He said as he pointed to the same area she had almost died at.

"Ah." Mya said quietly before looking at him again and asking, "How did we leave the market?" At which point Masrur just stared at her hard for a moment or so before shaking his head and sighing.

"I don't know." It was a lie of course. He had been following her after all. Not that it mattered much now.

"How do we get back?"

"I'll take you." He said as he got to his feet and bent down a little so that he could offer her his hand to help her up. It was just as well, he supposed, that he should take her back himself. If left to her own vices she would only become even more lost. Besides, he had the feeling that Sin and the others were back at the ship already waiting on them.


	52. Chapter 52

Sinbad stood on deck of the ship waiting for his wife when he suddenly caught sight of Masrur breaking through the throng of people on land with Mya closely in tow. The fanilis looked... _irritated_ to Sin as he carefully maneuvered his Queen through the crowded streets.

Using his big body to shield her while pushing other people away from her without actually using his hands to do so. His normally masked expression looked a bit strained to the king as they finally broke free of the masses and the fanilis took a moment to collect his lady in his arms, bridal style and took a running leap from a good hundred and something paces offshore and landed seamlessly on the deck of the ship with Mya carefully cradled in his arms.

Arching a well kept brow at his general's more than a little odd behavior, he quietly observed as his wife was gently placed on her feet before the man walked away after muttering something about 'getting help' because he had finally noticed that her wound was paining her half way back to the ship after a little incident in the market.

Where she had been roughly pushed into the side of a building by an annoyed merchant, and had accidentally slammed her injured shoulder against the stone before he could so much as react and grab the fellow that had pushed her.

After taking the man to task for shoving his lady and possibly injuring her further, Masrur had then pulled his Queen into an alley and stripped her shoulder bare so that he could make sure that her wound hadn't been reopened or the stitches torn. Luckily neither had occurred.

Still, hitting the stone wall of the building moments ago _had_ to be hurting her. And after offering to carry her the rest of the way to the ship, and getting shot down flat- his irritation levels had soared higher than he could ever recall them being.

Which was why after getting Ja-far to attend his lady, he went down to the mess hall and sat down and poured himself some mead.

An unusual sight for those who knew the fanalis... _well_. Especially since the man never really indulged in spirits of any kind. Not even during celebrations when it was pretty much mandatory. He was well into his third cup of mead when Sin suddenly appeared and took a seat next to him and poured himself a cup as he asked curiously, "Everything okay?"

Masrur took a long drink and set his cup down before swallowing and replying, "She almost died." Sin didn't really respond to the information of Mya almost dying earlier that day since she had told him and Ja-far of what had happened while her wound was being redressed.

"And then half way here a merchant shoved her into the side of a building, hurting her shoulder again." Masrur said as he took another drink, his wine colored eyes boring into his king's skull for a moment before he sighed and pushed his cup away and said, "I lost my temper with her when she almost died..."

Sin glanced at him for a moment before saying, "Oh?"

"It was after we left the tavern. She got lost and apparently thought she was coming right back here. But she got lost and wasn't really paying attention and I thought she was trying to commit suicide by throwing herself into the sea. I lost my temper and yelled at her and I think I possibly accidentally grabbed her too hard..." Masrur rambled for a few minutes before finally ending his little ramble by dropping his head forward to bang on the table, slightly startling Sin to the point where he actually jumped and gave the man an odd look before blinking and shaking his head and slowly reaching out and awkwardly patting his general on the shoulder.

"It's okay Masrur. Despite her odd temperament, Mya seems to be a rather forgiving person." _A little quirky, evil and twisted, but forgiving nevertheless-_ Sinbad thought to himself as he took another drink of his mead. Deciding to keep his thoughts to himself rather than speak them aloud where they could get him into even more trouble with his wife than he already was. "Besides, I just came from her cabin- and you didn't appear to have done any damage." _Though she did tell myself and Ja-far both of how you frightened her when you came up behind her._

 _(*****************************************************************************************************************************)_

Ja-far finished re-bandaging his lady's shoulder while Hina sat in his usual spot over by the door with his back against the wall and his large spear resting against the wall next to him- well within reaching distance- both men listening to Mya as she told them about her near death experience and then he rude fellow at the market that had hurt her shoulder 'again' after explaining to the duo that Masrur had accidentally hurt her wound when he had saved her from certain death.

Which was possibly the only thing keeping both men rooted to their spots, smiling at her as she told them everything that had happened while she had been gone as enthusiastically as a young child. And after so many minutes of seeing the two smile and nod, she paused just long enough to sigh and mutter.

"Great. You two aren't even listening, are you?"

"We are." Hina defended as Ja-far blinked at his Queen's suddenly shuttered expression and wondered what was going through that pretty little head of hers.

"Alright," Mya said after a moment or two of unnerving silence. "What did I just say?" She asked, referring to the topic she had tried to broach while the two had been zoned out.

Specifically speaking, the topic about what had happened at the tavern with her husband and those- those _girls_.

 _Bleh. No matter where a woman goes, she would always have to compete with sluts._ Mya thought to herself before saying, "I was trying to ask if it would be at all possible to leave here and maybe go to lord Kouen's land for a while." She said again in an exasperated tone as she looked at the two men.

"And for what reason would you wish to leave Sindria?" Ja-far asked his green eyes narrowing slightly at his Queen.

"Well, lord Kouen has told me that for helping his men he would give me whatever I wish as payment-"

"Then ask for a chest full of gold or pretty gowns," Ja-far growled not liking where this conversation was going one little bit. "As it is, King Kouen could be brought up on criminal charges for kidnapping you."

"But he didn't-"

"Furthermore he has no right to-"

"Enough!" Mya snapped, startling the former assassin into silence before winching slightly at her own tone and sighing before saying, "I don't belong here. You have to know that." Both men visibly tensed up as they stared at her. Both already thinking or planning to restrain her by tying her to the bed if she even mentioned leaving Sindria. "I want to leave..." She finally stated, her expression tired. "I want to go home. But I have no idea where that is anymore because I'm stuck here. In a land that isn't mine. In a marriage I never asked for and certainly do not want. To someone who sees me as less than I am and so far hasn't exactly shown that much respect for me as a person. Which- by the way- I don't appreciate. I can't stay. I need you to understand that. I'd only become a liability to you in the near future anyways. I'm not Queen material, I don't know how to rule..."


	53. Chapter 53

**Yo everyone, sorry for disappearing. My family and I have been having issues with my younger cousin whom is still causing problems and has even gone so far as to try and attack me and my mom on several occasions. So we're trying to help him get sorted out and back to his lovable, normal, non violent self again.**

 **But there is a strong possibility that he may have another brain tumor or something wrong with his heart again.**

 **Also today marks the sixth month anniversary of my cat Baby's death. So, I'm kind of depressed. And if this chap doesn't make any sense or something I'll probably take it down later and redo it.**

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"Enough!" Mya snapped, startling the former assassin into silence before winching slightly at her own tone and sighing before saying. "I don't belong here. You have to know that."

Both men visibly tensed up as they stared at her. Both already thinking or planning to restrain her by tying her to the bed if she even mentioned leaving Sindria.

"I want to leave..." She finally stated, her expression tired. "I want to go home. But I have no idea where that is anymore because I'm stuck here. In a land that isn't mine. In a marriage I never asked for and certainly do not want. To someone who sees me as less than I am and so far hasn't exactly shown that much respect for me as a person. Which- by the way- I don't appreciate. I can't stay. I need you to understand that. I'd only become a liability to you in the near future anyways. I'm not Queen material- _I don't know how to rule_..."

"Then you'll learn." Ja-far snapped, venom dripping within his tone, his temper rising upon hearing the words that his lady spoke as he thought, _How dare_ _she!_ How dare she spurn Sinbad, his generosity and affections in this way! He had thought that his lady was far more intelligent that this. But apparently he- like everyone else had been deceived by this- this _common_ bitch.

His king deserved someone so much better. A Queen who was unlike any other. Kind, loving- someone who would want him and not decide to up and run from him for no good reason.

Hina looked at Ja-far's dark expression and felt as if the bottom had just dropped out of his stomach. The former assassin looked as if he wanted to slit Mya's throat. _Not good._ Hina thought as he slowly got to his feet and quickly made to position himself behind Ja-far so that if the ex-assassin dared to try something, he could put a stop to it.

After all, his lady wasn't trying to be hurtful- not intentionally anyways- in fact if anything, Hina could see things from her point of view. Her grandfather had a military background, yet that didn't mean that she herself had served her country in any capacity aside from being a healer.

She had probably had little contact with nobles or had possibly not been overly exposed to the politics of her countrymen aside from what little bit her grandfather had allowed.

If one looked at things that way, she had been raised and treated as an ordinary girl. Logically speaking- her argument was more than true. Someone without the right knowledge, could not rule. No one understood that better than he did since he had grown up in his home country as a prince among his tribe's men.

Mya wasn't trying to be cruel. If anything she was trying to be kind.

It was however a kindness that was gravely misunderstood from where Ja-far was standing. Because it meant that she was spurning Sinbad and his affections as well as the country that they had helped their king build and defend. And perhaps in a small way she was, but it wasn't because she didn't think Sinbad (or they) were good enough.

She was trying in no small way to tell them- no, to make them understand- that she wasn't good enough. She wasn't good enough to stand by Sinbad's side. But more importantly than that, she wasn't good enough to rule as their Queen.

Mya's shoulder's hunched a little bit as she turned her head and looked away from Ja-far's angry stare. She'd gone and done it now. She mused as the man continued to practically radiate fury. Her head was beginning to ache, and the possible argument to come once the green eyed young man ran to her husband and tattled on her like a child, was bound to cause more problems than solve them.

Baring his teeth at her in an angry snarl, Ja-far then snapped. "You should feel honored that our king bothers to dote on such an unworthy-"

Lifting her head, Mya jerked her face around to glare at him as she cut him off at the knees by quickly getting to her feet and walking over to the enraged man and jabbed him in the throat.

Cutting his stupid tirade off in mid sentence as she hissed at him from between clenched teeth, "Shut your damn mouth you son of a bitch." While he doubled over holding his throat and gasped for air. Hina's jaw dropped open in horror at what his lady had both said and just done to his fellow general.

But then again, Ja-far had sort of deserved it for the nasty and hurtful things he'd said to her.

Still...apparently his lady wasn't finished with the man since she now had him by his hair and was snapping back at him. "I am so sick of you and your damn king. I don't know what gave you and you're friends the actual thought that you have _any_ right at all to order me around. Much less plan out my own fucking future for me without asking, but what you and your king have done thus far is not only insulting to me but it is absolutely barbaric."

"Are you people really such Neanderthal's that you can't allow me a moment's peace? How many times do I have to spell it out for you- I don't want this. I don't care if you think it's an honor. If it's such an honor to you- then _you_ should have married him yourself!" She said as she let go of Ja-far an then wrapped her hand around his neck and used her thumb to press carefully on an area along his jugular, finally allowing him to take in several much needed deep breaths since his face had been starting to turn blue.

Seeing Ja-far's face slowly begin to take on color again, Hina mentally sighed as he moved forward to help the young man up and kept a firmer than necessary grip on his arm just in case he decided to try lunging at Mya. Especially since he had no doubt in his mind that his lady would probably kill the ex-assassin the next time he picked a fight with her as he then said, "My lady, you do not look too well." Causing Ja-far to lift his head up just enough to look at his Queen's paler than usual, face.

"Honestly I'm not feeling very well at the moment. Otherwise _that one_ there never would have wound up gasping and wheezing on the floor." Mya said as she lifted a hand to her forehead and checked her temp before frowning. _Well damn_. She thought as she let her arm drop back to her side after calculating how high her temp currently was and trying to think of just how high it would become later. All the stress of everything that had happened thus far since her injury must have finally started to catch up with her.

The headache, coupled with her nasty habit of getting violent, coupled with the fact that she was beginning to run a bit of a fever pretty much told her everything that she needed to know. _A not a flipping pharmacy in sight._ She thought to herself as she sighed and looked at Hina and wondered vaguely if she should tell him that she was beginning to become ill.

But then decided, nah, the fools could damn well figure it out for themselves.


	54. Chapter 54

Later that evening when Sinbad had returned to the room to speak with her, Mya had seemingly vanished just long enough to make herself some willow bark tea to drink since her fever was already spiking dangerously and it wasn't even night time yet.

True it was close to sunset, but it wasn't there just yet and already she had gauged her temperature spike to be close to about a hundred and two degree's.

Give or take.

Add that along with her sudden onset of nausea, dizziness and the fact that her vision was already beginning to start going dark from time to time, and she knew without a doubt that this time she was sick would possibly be worse than any other time she had ever been ill.

And there had been quite a few times while growing up.

The worst time had been when she had been found unconscious in her high school's hallway barely breathing due to the fact that she had been choking on her own vomit for several minutes before anyone had bothered to come looking for her.

All she recalled from the incident was a vague sense of being lifted into an ambulance and later on waking for just a moment to see an twenty something year old asian guy leaning over her trying to check her eyes by shining a blindingly bright light into them. Making her head ache worse than it had before she had lost consciousness.

She'd spent two weeks in the hospital with a fever of almost one hundred and six degree's- fighting for her life. And once her fever had sufficiently lowered, she had been sent home with strict instructions not to return to school for at least another two weeks since her white cell count had dropped to practically nothing and the doctors had worried that they might be seeing her again if she didn't listen.

To enforce the rule, her grandfather, the very instant they were home, had gone to her room and dragged the mattress off of her bed and through the house to the living room where he spent the next two weeks not only waiting on her hand and foot and going to the school to get her homework so that she could catch up instead of being left behind by everyone, but he had also slept beside her every night.

She recalled waking up one night after having a dream about her parents coming to visit her, and looking over at him to see if he was still up and had found him softly snoring away next to her, one of his hands firmly gripping one of her own.

Still... The time that she had spent with her grandfather felt like it was an eternity ago. For the time being, she had to try and focus more on the here and now.

Setting down her empty cup, Mya then walked as carefully as she could without wobbling or tripping and had finally reached the door and was about to step through when her vision went totally dark and her legs suddenly began to buckle under her.

Throwing out her arm in an attempt to keep from completely falling, she missed the wall and wound up being caught and held up by a pair of strong arms wrapping around her slender body.

Kouen had been on his way to the kitchen to get something for a late dinner for himself when he had paused in the doorway upon seeing Sinbad's wife, Queen Mya. He was afraid that he had been avoiding her of late, which wasn't well done of him both as a king of his country nor as a man considering the fact that her knowledge had saved his younger brother and many of his men from dying- thus allowing the ones that could be saved- to be saved.

So naturally when she had began to walk across the room towards the door, he had been about to greet her but had found his voice silenced by both concern and an more than a little bit of fear when she had wobbled a bit just before her legs had give out and she had begun to fall.

Acting on pure instinct, Kouen had rushed forward just enough to prevent the young Queen from hitting the floor and possibly being injured by wrapping his arms tightly around her slender body and pulling her up against him so that her head rested on his collar bone. Just under his chin.

"Lady Mya?" He said as he felt the soft irregular breaths she took, gently brushing the skin of his throat as he waited for her to respond before becoming more worried.

It simply wasn't like the girl to be so quiet. And her irregular breathing indicated distress or illness of some kind. Gathering the young Queen up in his arms, he quickly moved to sit down on the floor- something that he would never normally consider no matter what the circumstances- however because he was beginning to fear for the woman's heath, he needed to sit down so that he could attempt to rouse her at least enough to get some information from her. Hoping against hope that she hadn't somehow contracted the same illness that his younger brother and his men had suffered from.

Especially since the last thing he wanted was for Sinbad's wife to perish from the illness due to his foolishness or neglect. Lightly patting the side of her face, he frowned the first time he touched her because of the obvious heated feel of her skin.

"Lady Mya?" He said again, more firmly this time as he patted her skin again and again before stopping upon hearing someone come into the room and utter a string of oaths before one of Sinbad's generals descended on him and took Mya from his arms and stood back up growling at him.

Sharrkan held his unconscious lady in his arms as he bared his teeth and growled at the Kou empire's king for daring to lay his hands on his kings woman before he snapped, "What happened?" From between clenched teeth as the man slowly got to his feet, his eyes never leaving his lady's pale face.

"I do not know. I saw her when I came here and thought that perhaps I should speak with her since I had yet to really do so, but then she stumbled and fell. I grabbed her to keep her from hitting the floor and getting hurt. I had just noticed that she was feverish and unconscious- I had hoped to waken her to get enough information to figure out whether or not she had someone contracted the same illness that I brought her here to cure."

Narrowing his sharp eyes at the man, the platinum haired general thought to himself, _She better not have or there's going to be one less royal in the Kou's royal court._ As he and Kouen heard several people coming into the room and turned to see who they were.

One of them was Pitsi, Sparta, Drakon, Kouen's three generals, and bringing up the rear among them was Kouen's younger brother prince Kouha.

"Sharrkan! What happened to Queen Mya?" Drakon demanded as he moved to stand next to his friend and fellow general and took a moment to look over his Queen as Sharrkan said.

"I don't know what happened to her. All I know is that she is sick."

"Yes," The dragon/human hybrid general said softly. "I can see that." He wasn't lying when he said this, he could feel the heat of her body from where he stood and knew that her temperature was abnormally high. Perhaps even dangerously so.

"Pitsi, Sparta- Go get Sinbad, now!"


	55. Chapter 55

Sinbad leaned over his wife's unconscious form, his golden honey eyes taking in everything from the occasional whimpers to the unsteady rise and fall of Mya's breasts as she breathed. He had been a fool before not to have noticed the strain his young bride was being placed under by the argument's, fights, and scrutiny of himself and the others.

When he had been told that she had fallen unconscious, he hadn't been as concerned as he should have been. He had merely thought that she had overtaxed her strength.

After all, every man knew that women were weaker than they were. It was why men like himself protected them so much.

But now- now that he was so close to her... And able to feel the heat of her fever, he felt helpless. So damn helpless that he began to get flashbacks of his mother when he had been but a young boy.

His mother had been a warm, kind and beautiful woman. But she had not been strong. Which was when he was just eight summer's old, she had suddenly become very ill and had remained so for years afterward all the way up to her death.

She simply hadn't been able to shake the illness no matter how many times he got her medicine to take. And with him trying to earn money to buy her medicine- he hadn't been around to help her as much as he had meant to be. To help her cook and feed them both.

After he had conquered his first dungeon he had raced straight home hoping to find her and tell her that she needn't ever worry about medicine again only to find out that he had been in the dungeon for over a month. And his mother... She had perished of starvation before anyone had thought to look in on her.

It was something that Sinbad had never spoken of to anyone with the exception of Hinahoho, Ja-far and Masrur being as they had been his first three generals and somewhat understood that he blamed himself for what had happened to his mother.

And now, again seeing someone who had so quickly become so dear to him- even if she did frighten him with that odd way her personality went from sweet to fire breathing at the drop of a feather- he felt like crying from the injustice of it all as he very gently touched his forehead to her own as she slept, causing her to twitch slightly under him before letting her eyes flutter open to stare at him blankly for a moment.

"S-Sin-bad?" Mya said his name in a raspy tone that had him jerking upright and away from her so that he could look at her without seeming to loom over her like some dark menacing shadow, and gently took her hand small hand in his own and brought it to his lips and kissed her knuckles before saying.

"I'm here. Do you need anything?"

"A drink... I-I need a drink." Mya rasped as she tried to push herself up using one of her elbows only to have him release her hand and place both of his hands on her shoulders so that he could push her back down. No one with a fever as high as hers should attempt to move on their own. _"Oh!"_ She groaned pitifully as her back was pressed into the mattress before stammering out, "A-And air." As she frowned a bit. Wondering to herself if even one of those things sounded right.

She wasn't sure due to the constant pounding in her skull.

"You can have a drink. But you aren't getting any air until you're fever is gone." Sinbad said sternly before tacking on, "I'll not have you going out and becoming even more ill." Sinbad said more softly, his tone tender as he shifted his hands so that he could stroke her pale, sweat dampened hair back from her face.

Mya didn't say anything for several heartbeats before finally stating, "My head hurts." In a slightly confused tone that had Sinbad tilting his head just a bit as he studied her while she repeated, "My head hurts." Blinking back tears, she looked at him with that same confused expression on her pretty face as he spoke gently.

"I know it does, love. I'll have someone fix some willow bark tea to help with both your headache and your fever, and then if you feel up to it later, I'll see about having someone bring you some food since I know that you didn't eat before becoming ill."

She made a low humming sound as her eye lids began to get heavy and she let them slip closed as she replied, "M'kay." And drifted back off to sleep. Leaving Sinbad once again to his silent vigil by her side, his mind occupied with worrisome thoughts.

Hours passed, and the only times Sinbad moved from Mya's side was to fetch her her drink and again to fetch her some food when she woke up again just before dawn. Staying close by as she ate, he noted that she occasionally would pause to glance at one of her hands as her breathing pattern slowly began to change as she got a peculiar look on her face and set aside the rest of her food so that she could continue to watch her hand.

Frowning a bit, Sinbad opened his mouth to ask what was wrong when he heard her mutter, "Two...no- three minutes." And blinked in confusion, not really understanding what she was speaking of until she looked at him and said, "In three minutes, I'm going to go into convulsions. I need you to restrain me and make sure that I don't accidentally bite my tongue off."

Sinbad blinked at her, not really managing to process what she was saying to him until her eyes suddenly rolled back in her head and her whole body began to convulse violently.


	56. Chapter 56

Sin held Mya's unconscious body tightly against his chest with one arm as he silently cried and carefully wiped away the slight traces of blood red scarlet left on her pale lips from when he'd had to force her mouth open and slip his wrist inside of it to keep her from hurting herself.

His heart was still hammering in his chest even though it felt as if Mya had finally stopped convulsing an hour or so ago- it was only little more than ten minutes. Sin's normally healthy looking tan skin had taken on an almost sickly ashen parlor, and the hand he used to wipe his blood from his wife's lips was shaking.

Touching his forehead to Mya's, he closed his eyes and held her closer to him, practically pulling her into his lap so that he could cradle her in his arms. Her head coming to rest against his chest, her head tipped back so that he was holding it in his palm. Her breath escaping her lungs in soft but strained little pants that tickled the skin along the underside of his chin.

Sin normally wasn't the first to admit when he was scared- no not him, he was always brave, courageous, and confident in his ability to do what was needed no matter the task- but seeing his wife suffer like this... This was just plain cruel. And the convulsive fit she'd suffered through mere minutes ago; they scared the shit out of him.

What was he going to do if she didn't get better? The very notion plagued and tormented him endlessly. To be honest he was fearful of any answer his mind may conjure up.

As a king, he had a certain responsibility to marry well and procreate worthy heirs. Princes and princesses to keep his kingdom and legacy alive long after he was dead and gone. And there was no one else that Sin could say with absolute certainty, was worthy of being both his Queen and future mother to his heirs as Mya was.

Which was in part what had him fearful. If Mya wasn't healthy enough to give him heirs, then his people could demand he marry another and sire children on her to beget heirs. And that was unacceptable to him since he loved Mya.

He had loved her since the first time he had seen her image in the mirror given to him on his birthday. She had simply been so beautiful and innocent and vulnerable that something about her image had tugged at his heartstrings, causing him to watch his mirror for even a glimpse of her every day and night up until the night she had mysteriously appeared in his room.

And by then he had known that he was absolutely, without a doubt, head over heels in love with her.

Absently aware that Mya's breathing had returned to a semi normal state, Sinbad moved his head back so that he could look at her features. Hoping that she was no longer in discomfort or pain- for the moment at least. And sighed in relief when he saw that he was right.

She _was_ resting more peacefully.

Exhaling a shaky breath that he hadn't been aware that he had been holding, he then kissed her temple and her pale cheeks before hesitantly lowering her back onto the bed and tucking the sheets and blanket up around her shoulders so that she could sleep better.

And then used his hands to wipe any remaining traces of wetness from his face so that his men (plus those two damn Kou bratlings) wouldn't be able to see him in a weak or vulnerable state. Seeing as rulers who were seen as weak or vulnerable were usually seen as conquerable by their enemies.

Casting one last lingering glance at Mya's sleeping form, Sinbad then stood up and slowly walked out of the cabin to see about trying to find something to bring down his wife's fever.

(*********************************************************************************************************************)

Kouen, Kouha, and Sinbad's generals had all been waiting for Sinbad to come out of the cabin to tell them something of his Queen's condition for over three hours now.

A. Whole. _Frustrating_. Goddamn. Three. Hours.

But it was three hours that Kouen was more than happy to sit somewhere and waste while he waited for some idea of how the young Queen was doing. He had figured out an hour after Sinbad had taken her from his platinum haired general Sharrkan, that as long as her condition was just a little bit stable he might be able to use Phoenix to perhaps speed up the healing process.

However first he needed to know how she was doing. How high her fever was and also any other symptoms that may have reared their ugly head in the past few hours.

So naturally when the cabin door opened and Sinbad stepped out and quietly closed the door behind him- Kouen held his breath and waited. Because for the moment- it was simply all that he could do.

"Sire?" One of Sinbad's generals said anxiously as everyone took in the king of Sindria's haggard appearance.

Sin looked at his generals for a moment before hesitantly saying, "My lady's fever is dangerously high. Far too high for her not to come out of this without suffering some sort of lingering ill effects. We should be prepared for anything from convulsions, to fainting spells to-" He stopped for a moment and frowned as he thought of other ill side effects of such fevers. Which, he hated to admit, included memory loss- both long term and short term- and of course last but not least, death. "M-Memory loss. Both long term and short term..." He didn't dare speak of the possibility of her dying.

He was afraid that if he did, he would somehow jinx her and the word (that hateful, spiteful, _gut wrenching_ word) would somehow become a reality that he had never once considered.

"What should we do?" Hina asked, concern for both his Queen/daughter and his king/friend etched into his features.

"W-We need to find a way to get her fever down as quickly as possible."

The giant shook his head at his king's reply, knowing that the man didn't understand what he meant by his question. So he clarified, "No Sin, what I meant was- What do we do if Mya's memory is affected?" At which Sinbad blinked at his general and then looked away, his expression troubled before he finally uttered.

"We deal with it."


	57. Chapter 57

The days and nights after the day of Mya's collapse blurred together in Sinbad's mind as he and his generals used every resource available to them in an desperate attempt to lower/break Mya's fever so that she could get well. And after almost little over a week of her slipping in and out of consciousness and being delirious- it finally happened.

It was day nine by Sinbad's calculation, and he had just been woken up from a light doze by his general Sharrkan just in time to blink his sleep blurry eyes and see Ja-far leaning over his wife with a small frown on his face before then moving away and sighing as he straightened his back.

"Report." Sinbad said in a sleepy harsh tone as he then cleared his throat and attempted to rouse himself enough to listen to what his man was telling him. But after almost a week without proper food or rest due to the fact that he had been by his Queen's sickbed- refusing to leave her alone when she most needed him- he was afraid that he was trying to fight a losing battle.

His eyes could barely stay open.

And his mind felt like it was full of cobwebs or something. Or at least that's how he thought cobwebs would feel if they were in his head. Frowning, he decided that it was a most uncomfortable feeling. As Ja-far repeated for the third time as he walked over to his struggling king and laid his hand on his friends shoulder to draw his attention to him so that he wouldn't have to repeat himself again for a fourth time, "Her fever's gone." At which point Sinbad blinked at him.

Apparently uncomprehending due to the proper lack of rest. But after Sharrkan let out a loud overjoyed whoop and slapped Sin on the back hard enough to almost knock the man out of his seat- all that tiredness just seemed to fade away as his king turned his head to peg him with a glare before yelling at him, "What the hell was that-"

Sharrkan, never one deterred by any display of temper from his king just grinned at him, bemused as he said. "Didn't you hear Ja-far? Mya's fever's broken! She's going to be okay."

Sinbad made an slightly unintelligible sound before nodding his head. Oh yes, he had heard alright. And while typically he would have reacted more enthusiastically due to the fact that he was happy that his wife was on the mend and would soon possibly awaken- he was just so damn weary.

He just didn't have the energy to do more than yawn and then get up and stagger over to the bed and stretch out next to Mya on top of the covers and gathered her sleeping form close to him and Ja-far grabbed Sharrkan by the scruff of his neck and quietly dragged the taller man out of the cabin so that their king could get some real rest.

He'd be sure to send Masrur to watch over the two while he went to see about informing the others of their Queen's improvement in condition before he then oversaw the sip's cooks while they prepared food for both Sinbad and Mya for when they awakened.

He would bet that both would be fairly ravenous since neither had really had any true form of sustenance for quite a while.

Once outside the cabin, he released Sharrkan so that the man could mutter darkly about what a bastard he was behind his back, as he often did, while he went off to find the others and was stopped by Masrur when the man seemed to just fall right out of the sky and deftly landed in front of him.

Startling the ex-assassin badly enough that he let out a rather unmanly squeak as the fanalis straightened his spine and cast him an curious look that was in it's own weird way- commanding him to speak of any changes in their Queen's condition. Causing the blond to smile before stating, "The fever has finally burned itself out. She should wake up soon."

Masrur nodded his head and looked away for a second and then gritted his teeth, the topic that his king had brought up nine days ago was something that he and the other's feared touching on because they were uncertain with how to deal with the situation should _that_ become an actual issue.

But unlike some of his friends, Masrur was a man ruled by instinct and common sense- well, mostly anyways. Which was why he had been running simulations in his mind of what could occur should his lady awaken with memory loss. Whether is be short term or long term.

On one hand, depending on what part of her memory was lost, it could prove to be both a blessing or a curse. And his common sense was telling him that the likelihood of his lady waking with her mind totally intact after such a high fever for so long, was slim. Very slim.

"D-Do we know yet if-" Masrur began to ask when Ja-far slapped his hand over the man's mouth and hissed at him to shut the hell up. His once good mood spoiled by the question hanging over all of their heads. Sighing, he slowly released Masrur and said in a softer tone.

"We won't know anything until Mya wakes up and begins to interact with us again."

"And if her memory has been affected?"

"We will take the necessary steps to ensure that she has all the help and guidance she needs until she can function again." Ja-far said. Masrur nodded his head in understanding, feeling- no, _believing_ that that was the best move that anyone could make for the moment.

"I want to be one of our Queen's personal guards." Masrur said causing Ja-far to give him a peculiar look. If he didn't know any better he'd think Masrur was- No. _No, no, no, no_. He thought with a slight shake of his head. He knew that some fanalis males picked their mates from women that they found pleasing on some more basic and primal level. But he highly doubted that the man's words were fueled by anything less than his loyalty to his king.

Besides.

Sinbad never shared his women.


	58. Chapter 58

**Sorry I haven't updated this- I was taking a small break to keep from burning myself out on this story while updating some of my older ones.**

 **It's been a wild couple of weeks for me. I opened an online jewelry store on Etsy. My suicidal cousin is slowly getting better. My parents were forced to adopt my 14 yr old cousin Amy to keep her from being handed over to the state.**

 **I had an incident the other night where I had to call the cops because someone was peeking into my house via one of the dinning room windows at about 11:30 pm at night. The cops came- went straight up to my uncles house, looked around up there and then left.**

 **I called the dispatch again just to tell the person on the other end that I felt safer already.**

 **Anyways. Enjoy the latest chap.**

 **(**********************************************************************************************************************)**

About an hour or so after Sin had laid down next to Mya to get some much needed sleep now that her fever was gone, she woke up and slowly pushed herself upright in her bed and looked around through sleep bleary eyes. Taking in the ship cabin's appearance, she frowned. Unable to sufficiently focus on anything due to the nagging feeling that something was terribly wrong.

The room that she was in for one. It wasn't her bedroom she knew that for a fact. The whole room was swaying, it was subtle and barely noticeable unless on was paying really close attention, but the slight motion was there. Dizzingly so. Which would place her...on a boat or ship of some kind.

 _But how did I get here?_ She wondered before wondering where exactly _here_ was. From what she recalled of her home there were no major bodies of water for miles.

No seriously large lakes, or ponds. No rivers or streams aside from the small ones that ran through the mountains some twenty or so miles from her home. But one had to go deep within the mountains just to reach one.

Hell there wasn't even any beaches near her home for hundreds and hundreds of miles. Which begged the question, where the hell was she and why was she there? Curious, she slowly eased herself out of the bed that she had woken up in, wincing from time to time when she moved due to the muscle soreness within her body.

Setting her feet on the floor, she staggered a little bit at first but finally managed to make her way over to the door and opened it a sliver so that she could peek outside.

The first thing that hit her was the brightness of the setting sun in it's orange, purple sky. The second thing that hit her was the smell and taste of salt. She could smell it on the winds, it was so strong that she could taste it in her tongue. Which would place her on the sea somewhere.

But how? She didn't even remember leaving her home!

"Lady Mya?" She heard a masculine voice say from somewhere to her...right... Turning her head in that direction she looked at the person who had spoken to her.

It was a man, obviously. Tall (about six foot five), muscular, handsome, with short shaggy looking red hair and wine red eyes. And he was wearing what looked to be a roman style toga made of white linin cloth that fell just a little past his thighs, with high polished golden armor strapped to his chest, a sword at his hip and...was that a red cape he was wearing attached to his clothing and armor?

She might have laughed about that last little bit if not for the fact that the man was watching her so intently. Then after a moment or so, sighed and then said, "You do not remember me." It wasn't a question.

But she nodded her head in response just the same as if it had been.

"I see." Was all the man said as he held up one finger an then turned and vanished into thin air. Eliciting a squeak of surprise from her before she tripped over her own feet just trying to back up from where she had been standing. And that was how the man found her when he suddenly returned with a young man with short platinum colored hair and dark green eyes.

On her ass, on the deck of some unknown ship with a panicked look on her pretty face.

She might have actually been embarrassed if not for the fact that she was freaking out so badly and as such, didn't particularly care that she was found as she was.

"My lady!" The man with the pale blond hair and green eyes said as he walked over to her and knelt down in front of her. "Are you alright? Did you fall? You didn't hurt yourself did you?" The man asked as he took a moment to quickly look her over from head to toe before seeming to decide that she was alright. Aside from the fact that she was pale and looked a bit shaky, that is.

Mya opened her mouth to say something, but only a frightened sounding squeak escaped her. The man seemed to consider this before he asked in a hesitant tone, "Do you remember me? My name? Who I am?"

She shook her head slowly as his question penetrated her brain. She didn't remember him. She didn't know him. How could she? She had never seen this man before in her life!

The man with the green eyes looked slightly distraught as he turned to the red headed man from before and said, "Go get Sinbad and the others. Quickly." The red head nodded and then vanished into thin air again, and Mya actually felt scared of what was going on around her.

Who was Sinbad? Who were the others? And why did the man with the blond hair feel that they needed to be present? _Just what the hell was going on?_ She wondered as the man turned back around to face her and put his hands up, palm out in what she supposed was either a placating gesture or a calming one.

Though if it was meant to be a calming one, it was failing miserably because she was _dangerously_ close to curling up and crying.

The red head was only gone for two or three minutes tops before he returned. And this time he came back with more friends. Most of whom were handsome young men, with the exception of the young girl and woman that was with them. All of them ranging from being in their early twenties to early thirties in age.

But there was at least one or two aside from the blond man and the red head that certainly got her attention quick. One was a giant. As in literally a fucking giant. With long blue hair and sea colored eyes and a scar on his face. And right in front of him was a six foot something young man with long purple hair and golden amber eyes.

Both were exceptional in the looks department. However both sort of gave her the creeps.

They looked like ax murderers to her. And not just any old ax murderer, but the kind that could kill you with a smile. Moving forward, the man with the honey gold eyes dropped down to his knee next to her just on the other side of the blond and asked, "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

The blond gave him a grim look that had the other man frowning at him before turning his attention to Mya and asking in a soft tone, "Are you well, Mya?" She looked at him, the impulse to reach out and throttle him for asking such a stupid question almost getting the better of her before she realized just how familiar he and the others were acting towards her.

They knew her. But she didn't know them.

 _Something has happened to me-_ Came the sufficatingly terrifying realization as she looked at him, an desperately tried to recall what she couldn't. What was his name? Why did he look so odd? Was he and his friends foreign? How did they know her? How had they met? Were they friends? Enemies?

 _What?_

She needed to know, but for some reason her normally sharp mind was eerily blank of any and all details concerning the group and nearly jumped out of her skin when the man go a crushed look on his face and then reached out and lightly cupped her cheek in his hand and said very gently his voice both full of pain and understanding, "It's alright. Don't try to force yourself to remember if it hurts you too."

He gave her a slightly strained smile as he rubbed his thumb along the curve of her cheek in what was meant to be a comforting way as he said, "I know that you just woke up and that you obviously do not remember any of us. But my name is Sinbad. I am the king of a small island kingdom in the middle of the sea, the group you see here are my generals and friends. They serve me and my family...and you...are _my_ wife." The words alone couldn't have shocked her more, if that was at all possible.


	59. Chapter 59

"I know that you just woke up and that you obviously do not remember any of us. But my name is Sinbad. I am the king of a small island kingdom in the middle of the sea, the group you see here are my generals and friends. They serve me and my family...and you...are _my_ wife." The words alone couldn't have shocked her more than a slap in the face, if that was at all possible.

As Mya stared at the man- Sinbad?- with an expression akin to disbelief, which then changed ever so slightly to worry.

Being as she couldn't remember him or the fact that they were even married, she couldn't help but wonder if he was attempting to take advantage of her. After all, she had come across guys like him before.

Masculinely beautiful, rich, spoiled men- who didn't take kindly to the word _'no'_.

Letting out a shaky breath, she tried to calm her suddenly frayed nerves a bit as the man regarded her patiently for a response of some kind before finally reaching out and slipping an arm around her shoulders and another under her knees and suddenly lifting her up off of the deck of the ship as he slowly rose to his feet with her cradled in his arms as he spoke to the blond man and the giant and the others.

"We're going to talk somewhere. _Privately_." He made sure to emphasize the word, privately for her benefit. Though from the looks on everyone's faces she doubted that they would simply leave them be so that they could speak. She caught a few of them exchanging non too subtle glances with each other that practically spelled out 'stalker' to her.

Hesitantly placing a small hand against Sinbad's chest, he looked down at her to see what was wrong, thinking that maybe she was becoming upset only to find that she was chewing on her bottom lip and frowning a little bit and seemed to be lost in thought for a moment before finally saying, "I-It's okay to talk here."

He opened his mouth to argue that there may be things that they needed to discuss with each other that they didn't wish others to hear, but stopped himself when she went on to say. "You're friends sort of give the impression that they're worried-" And Sin had to at least agree with that statement. His generals were worried. For both him and his queen. "And they might decide to follow us if we go somewhere to talk just so that they can listen in on stuff. So it's best to speak where they can hear us since it might alleviate some of their concerns."

Sinbad blinked at her for a moment before giving her an smile and then asked-er rather, ordered- two of his men to go and gather some things so that she could sit out on the deck comfortably. And before she could so much as tell them not to go to the trouble, she could sit on the wooden deck as easily as any other person... _poof!_

They were fricking gone.

Blinking her wide eyes, her expression laughably comical- Sinbad let a small chuckle escape him as Mya looked back up at him and then asked in a whispery tone. "Are you're men ninja's?"

"What-zis?"

"Ninja's, Sinbad, ninja's! Are they?" Seeing that his wife was beginning to get rather excited Sinbad felt it in his best interest to answer her.

"Ah, no- I don't think they are." He said slowly as his men suddenly reappeared with large plush cushions a brightly colored linen blanket and quickly piled the cushions in the corner against the side of the railing and cabin that she'd been staying in before stepping back so that Sin could carry her over and set her down among the small mountain and make sure that she was good and comfortable before he sat back and brushed his knuckles along the soft curve of her cheek and noting in a soft tone. "Mya you look exhausted."

Frowning slightly at his words, she slowly shook her head. "No. I'm okay." She said despite the fact that her shoulder was throbbing and the rest of her body was aching, and she could feel her energy was running dangerously low. Though she hated to admit it even to herself.

She _was_ exhausted. But she could tough it out for a bit.

Hopefully long enough to speak with her...uh...husband?

God that word sounded so weird to her. She had never really thought of herself as the marrying type. So maybe that was why she was having so much difficulty coming to grips with her situation. That and the fact that she couldn't remember anything would make things exceedingly difficult for just about anyone in her shoes, she supposed.

"S-So where do you want to begin our talk?" She finally managed to stammer out.

"We'll begin where you feel comfortable. Let's start with any questions that you may have." Sinbad suggested. Mya nodded her head and asked,

"How did we meet? You said that you were a king of an island country, as such I would imagine that meeting women can be somewhat bothersome."

"It is at times. But I managed to find you." Sinbad said while both managing to agree with her and answer her at the same time. Mya however didn't seem to realize this and waited expectantly for him to answer her while he waited for her next question.

"Was there something else?" Sinbad asked after a heartbeat or so.

"I'm still sort of waiting for you to answer my question."

Sinbad opened his mouth, closed it, and then tried again- this time finally managing to whisper out, "I did! I. Found. You."

To which Mya frowned and picked up a smaller cushion and fired it at his face as she hissed, "What the hell am I? A fricking puppy or kitten?! You don't simply find people, pick them up and take them home with you! You know who does things like that- crazy people! That's who."

The pillow hit him square on as she ranted at him before falling silent and shooting a glare his way when he peeked at her from behind the pillow. Holding it in front of him as if it would shield him from her wrath.

So far he had to admit, that their little talk was going somewhat swimmingly. She may be upset with him but at least she wasn't attempting to toss him overboard or drown him just yet. That was something. Right?

Still he felt just a tad bit insulted by her rant about him being crazy. And sure, he knew that she probably didn't mean it the way it sounded. Especially since she could neither remember nor had been told of how he had met every one of his generals just yet.

Being that she had only been in his life for a few weeks...and with everything that had happened to her...he had never had the chance to really tell her that that was exactly how he had met his generals and managed to keep them.

He'd picked them up and brought them home with him.

Just like puppies and kittens.

He looked at his rag-tag group of people and felt a chill run down his spine as he imagined them as puppies and kittens. Really, really mean- puppies and kittens that liked to do terrible things to him and his stuff.

Ja-far was especially bad about sharpening his fangs and claws on him and his things.

He would be the worst kitten of the whole lot.

Shaking the terrifying thought away, Sinbad refocused on Mya and their conversation and asked, "Is there anything else that you wish to know?"

Mya's glare lessened a bit as she chewed her bottom lip for a moment, seeming to think on what she should ask him next before going ahead and saying, "A bit actually. How did I come to be here? I've never traveled far from home willingly. And I do not think I've ever heard of you're island country of Sindria before. How long did we know one another before we married? What was the ceremony like? Did I have a friend to act as someone in my family- give me away? Why can't I remember anything?"

Sinbad blinked at her before holding his hands out palm's up in a placating gesture as he said, "Whoa! One question at a time," And then took a moment to mentally go over her words before answering her. "No idea. I couldn't tell you why you've never heard of Sindria, you never mentioned where you were from. I merely got an impression that it was from very far away. We knew each other for barely a half hour. The ceremony was informal. I have no idea what you mean by 'give you away'."

"Is that something that the people of you're country do? What about bride prices? How do those work? As for why you can't remember anything- you've been very ill for the past week in a half with a dangerously high fever. It is our belief that the fever has somehow scrambled your brain."

Mya regarded him with a peculiar look before making an 'ah' sound and muttering, "I see. If that's the case- as far as my memory loss goes anyways- then we have about a year or two before I get it back."

Sinbad opened his mouth to ask her what she meant when Ja-far beat him to it. "You speak as if this isn't the first time you've lost you're memory."

Mya looked at him and smiled as she nodded her head slowly. "Of course it isn't. Between my self defense lesson's from my grandfather and all the head injuries I managed to get, coupled with my knack for becoming ill when placed under extreme amounts of stress... I've been at death's door more than a score of times due to high fevers alone."

"Normally that in itself is easy enough to get over. However, I'm apparently a rare case- since there is always the danger of becoming ill again just a week or two after I begin to actually regain my strength. Which is bad since the next time I become ill could very well actually kill me. And my memory being affected is really nothing new. I must have lost my memory at least half a dozen times or more. Why once I recall losing my memory after my parents and brothers died. And my grandfather had the unpleasant task of reminding me that they were gone whenever I began to ask about when I could go home."

Everyone remained silent. Listening to every word and absorbing the information like sponges.

"He hated having to see me grieve for them all over again. Unfortunately he didn't have time to dwell on such things, he felt he needed to prepare me for other things. Like how to deal with people who would take advantage of my current state. He felt that I was defenseless. And decided to do something about that. Which was pretty clever of him since everything he taught me came in handy quite a few times."

Interested in the sudden topic of what her grandfather had taught her to take care of herself, Sinbad asked curiously. "What exactly did you're grandfather teach you to help you protect yourself against those who would take advantage of you while you were vulnerable?"

"He taught me how to use weapons. Not just guns, but knives, tofa- which are a type of wooden weapon that in the right hands, can be used as a means of both attack and defense. He also taught me how to craft my own weapons with any materials that I had handy. Just in case I was ever in a tough situation."

"He also taught me hand to hand combat. He had me learn some of his military hand to hand techniques and then he sent me to a place in town to learn martial arts, and after I learned all of those and had them down, he taught me a few assassination techniques. Some street fighting... And I think that's more or less it." Mya said, deciding that it was for the best not to elaborate any further.

Sin was starting to look a little green as he listened to his wife speak. And who could blame him, Mya had just basically told him that she was the female version of Ja-far.

Speaking of, the ex-assassin was looking awfully pleased about something. Sin thought as he made a mental note to knock that weird ass grin off the former assassin's face later on.

"Y-Your grandfather basically turned you into a weapon."

"Like I said, he felt he needed too. I had lost my memory and people in general have proven themselves to be rather cruel. He didn't want me to be at someone's mercy with no way to defend myself. And as I said before- his teachings _did_ come in handy quite a few times. Now I would like to drop this subject since it isn't exactly the most pleasant of things to remember. And this particular subject, while it has saved me from being injured or worse, several times- is distasteful to me."

Hesitating for just a moment Sinbad nodded his head in agreement, though he was still curious about everything that her grandfather had taught her. And made a mental note to sometime soon, have her spar with himself or one or two of the others to see just what she could do before moving on.

They spoke for another hour or so about everything that popped into their heads before Mya finally began to grow weary enough to nearly fall asleep on him, earning a somewhat concerned look from him and his generals as she muttered, "Dammit. I hate being sick," In a sulky tone before curling up against his side and leaning into him before finally stating, "You know that you're going to have to marry me again." And then dozing off before he could even respond to her demand.

She was right though, he conceded. With her memory such a mess he would have to marry her again to create stability where currently there was little to none. And he would have to make it a formal ceremony this time.

Gods she was going to be so pissed once she remembered everything. He thought with a tired sigh as he carefully slipped his arms around her and pulled her into his lap and then carefully arranged her body so that her head was resting against his chest while he regarded his generals for a moment before saying, "Well, you all heard your queen. It looks like I'll be having that formal wedding much sooner than expected."

Yamraiha and Pitsi and Sharrkan looked excited.

Hinahoho smiled evilly causing Sinbad to gulp a little since he knew what was coming. As Mya's adopted father, Hina had the right to challenge him to combat to test his strength and valor. As was custom for the giant's people to do whenever one of their females was to be married to an outsider.

Spartos and Drakon both smiled in bemusement.

While Ja-far rolled up his sleeves and began barking out orders to Yamraiha, Pitsi and Sharrkan to prepare everything for Sinbad's wedding by the end of the week.

As Masrur stood by silently, his expression thoughtful.


	60. Chapter 60

Mya didn't wake again that day. In fact she slept rather soundly throughout the last bit of the day and well into the night. Only waking again in the early morning hours when she needed to relieve herself and leave the cabin to go search out some food.

Wearing only the linin night gown that Sinbad had dressed her in before he had put her to bed, Mya crept from the slightly ajar door of her cabin and out into the open before softly closing the door so that her resting husband wouldn't be disturbed and then groggily began to make her way towards the kitchen when she heard a soft coughing- no. No it wasn't a cough. She was wrong, it was a throat clearing sound to her...left?

And turning her head, she saw the man in the golden gladiator armor standing just a few feet away from her. Frowning a little bit she cocked her head to the side and studied him as he walked over to her and stared down at her for a second before asking, "Where are you going?"

"To see if I can find something to eat. I'm starving. You?"

He was quiet for a moment before slowly saying, "I could eat." Which basically translated to, _I'm going to stick to your side like glue._ In Mya's mind. Which was fine she supposed, but she didn't want him to get into trouble with her husband for ditching whatever he had been prior to her coming out to see if there was any food around.

"Alright," She said as she tried to stifle a yawn behind her hand in an attempt to not be rude. "Let us quest fellow hungry person." Masrur blinked at her strange wording yet said nothing as she began walking off again. He merely stepped up beside her and walked with her into the ship's kitchen.

Upon reaching the kitchen and noting the empty state it was in, Mya sighed and muttered under her breath something along the lines of, "Well there goes that hope."

 _Whatever that means_. Masrur thought to himself as he watched her wander over to several storage baskets to look through them for a moment before she made a happy little chirping sound and pulling some eggs from one of the baskets, a medium sized chunk of cheese, a few peppers and some oats.

And then moved to the meat storage closet and pulled out some pork slices, some flour, a jug of milk, some yeast, and honey and then set everything on the small island counter and then found some pots, pans and several bowls.

Curious as to what she was doing, Masrur watched her carefully as she grabbed a knife and began to cut up the peppers after pouring some oats in a pot with some water and a touch of milk and honey and then set the pot on the stove to wait until she was done prepping her other stuff before she bothered to cook everything.

Of course, Masrur noticed that she didn't seem to recall or even realize that the stove was already cooking the oats since the fire in the oven is what cooked the food- and it was an incredibly rare thing for said fire to be allowed to go out. Especially on ships.

Where they had only a limited supply of wood to burn.

Of course he didn't bother telling her this, though he did sort of meander his way over to the stove and while pretending to see what she was doing- took a moment or two to grab a long handled wooden spoon and stir the pot as he absently watched her finish cutting up the vegetables and place them in the bowl. Before taking hold of the cheese and slicing several thin pieces off of it to add to the other stuff in the bowl before grabbing the milk and eight or nine eggs and cracking them all and added them to the bowl of peppers, cheese, and milk.

Once everything was together, Mya turned to him to ask where the salt and pepper was only to have him hand her a small container of both spices mixed.

Looking down at the small glass jar in her hand with the small wooden spoon sticking out of the lid.

She shrugged her shoulders and then turned back around and put two spoonful's of the spices in the bowl before turning back around to grab a fork and use it to stir everything together really well before then grabbing one of the bigger pans and setting it on the stove to cook as Masrur subtly removed the pot of oats from their spot on the stove.

After which Mya grabbed another pan and filled it with pork slices and then put it on the stove too before grabbing another bowl and then put half of the flour, some yeast, milk, honey, water and some eggs in it. Before looking around for some straight up plain salt that she could use.

And after a moment or so returned with a bit of the spice and added it to the bowl and then grabbed a wooden spoon and began to stir it until it became difficult for her to use the spoon after which she grabbed the baking board from it's place hanging on the wall and set it down on the island and then grabbed several handfuls of four and placed it on the board before grabbing the bowl and using the spoon to pour everything out.

He watched her carefully knead the dough with her hands for several minutes before picking up the baking board and then sliding it into the over to bake, pausing only for a brief second or so to stare at the small fire before sighing and then straightening her spine so that she could pay more attention to her other dishes.

And it was about time too- Masrur wasn't much of a picky eater. In fact he wasn't picky at all since he was a fanilis, but there for a moment he had actually started to worry that she may have actually forgotten the other dishes.

So naturally he was glad when she began to do something with them. Taking a few minutes to stir up the eggs so that they could cook completely before reaching over to turn the pork slices so that the other side could turn a nice golden brown.

The scent of the various foods smelled amazing. So much so that he was looking forward to actually being able to eat what she was cooking. Especially after she had already proven herself to be a very good cook.

The eggs and pork slices were done within another few moments after which Mya removed both pans from the stove and set them on the island so that she could get some plates and bowls for the food that she had made while she waited for the bread to finish baking.

Fixing Masrur a plate of eggs and pork slices, she then fixed him a bowl of oats and handed them to him along with some silverware so that he could go ahead and eat as several other people groggily filed into the kitchen.

Two of which were Kouen and his younger brother Kouha. Both king and young prince took a moment to stare at Mya as she fixed them both something to eat before Kouen moved to take hold of her wrist in a gentle grip and stopped her from trying to hand him his portion of food.

"Lady Mya, why are you serving us?" He asked curiously all previous thoughts of rest leaving his mind. In all his years he had never met a queen who was either so humble or kind as to bother serving food to anyone. Be they royalty or peasant. Besides, as far as he knew, lady Mya was still feeling ill and didn't need to expend her energy taking care of them when she should be taking care of herself.

So naturally he wasn't sure what to make of Sinbad's bride- his supposedly _ill_ bride- cooking and serving him and his brother food.

Mya blinked at him, unsure of what he meant. Her confusion must have shown in her expression since Kouen merely released her wrist after a heartbeat or two and took his food with a quiet, and polite sounding 'thanks' before moving to sit and eat at the table several feet away where his younger brother already sat waiting.


	61. Chapter 61

While Masrur, Kouen and prince Kouha were eating quietly, Mya bisied herself with fixing several more plates of food. And just in time too. Ja-Far, Hinahoho, and Sharrkan chose about then to make an appearance. All three pausing in mid step in the kitchen doorway when they saw Mya over by the stove and Masrur, Kouen, and his younger brother sitting down eating.

"What the-" Sharrkan started to say as Ja-Far stomped forward and made a beeline for the area where his Queen was, fully intent on reprimanding her for doing such common work as cooking and serving others when she was royalty.

She was a Queen dammit and though she may not fully understand that fact he was ready to drill it into her head the hard way if he had too.

"Lady Mya!" He finally said as he came to an abrupt stop on the opposite side of the island. Knowing that if he got any closer he just might throttle her. "What do you think you are doing?" Ja-Far demanded catching the young woman off guard a bit.

Masrur tensed up and turned around in his seat so that his wine red eyes were trained on the young man.

He wasn't alone either.

Kouen and prince Kouha had both stopped eating and were eyeing the fair haired young man as if they would like nothing more than to gut him while he could plainly see Hina and Sharkkan across the room.

Sharkkan's hand went to the dagger attached to his belt, his fingers drumming against the sheath for a moment. And Hina's fingers twitched in an dangerously agitated manner. Making it more than obvious that if Ja-Far wasn't careful and treaded lightly here- he just may lose something important. Like oh say, his life. Or maybe even a limb or two.

Depending on who among them reached him first.

However Mya it seemed, didn't need anyone to come to her aid in any copacity. She handled Ja-Far perfectly by simply handing him his breakfast and saying in a faux pleasant tone, "Well good morning to you too. Here's your breakfast- do go somewhere and choke on it won't you."

Ja-Far's jaw dropped wide open in absolute shock. Not that he was alone in his reaction. Eveyone reacted in some way or another. Even king Kouen- stoic man that he was- was having more than a little difficulty not letting his jaw hit the floor.

Sputtering in disbelief, Hina decided to save his young friend from his adopted daughter's wrath before it became too great for even _him_ to handle and grabbed the young man by the scruff of his sage green robe and all but picked him up and carried him over to the table and made him sit down and whispered for him to shut the hell up before he got himself into more trouble.

And then once that was done the giant made his way back over to his daughter/Queen and smiled awkwardly at her and bowed to her in greeting.

"My lady, how are you feeling this morn?"

"I'd be better without specific things to give me a headache." Mya replied as she handed him his breakfast and then waved him off as Sharkan walked over and bowed in greeting to her too.

"My lady."

"Hello handsome." Mya said absently. Embarrassing the platinum haired swordsman so much that he turned a really interesting shade of red as he took his meal from her and stammered out a quiet thanks. Completely and utterly shocked that his lady would dare to so openly call him handsome when other's could misunderstand her intentions.

Luckily though, no one in the room seemed to really care. Otherwise he'd be strung up by his ankles somewhere and left to rot.

Masrur finally managed to finish his food off around the same time as Kouen and his little brother and grabbed his dirty dishes and stood up and then walked over to the dish washing basin and placed his dishes in it as Kouen took a moment to politely thank Mya for the meal before saying in a serious tone, "I wish to speak with Sinbad about the reward that you earned by coming to the aid of myself and my men."

His interest piqued by this statement, Masrur went to stand directly behind his lady Queen like a good watch dog should and listened to every little word exchanged as if his life depended upon it.

"Oh? Well I'm sure that I can tell him that you wish to speak with him, if you want." Mya said easily. Kouen smiled at her, taking her blasé attitude about his request in stride with everything else.

"That would be nice. Sometime when he's free to speak would work."

"Alright." She smiled at him and waved as he and his silent brother left the kitchen to go about their daily duties. Leaving Mya to sigh as soon as they were gone before turning her attention to the bread that she had been baking- she really needed to get it out of the oven and fix her husband some food before it was all gone.

And with that firmly in mind, she pulled the freshly baked bread from the over and set it on the island to cool a bit as she fixed something for Sinbad to eat when he finally woke up.

Once all of that was done, she carefully looked everything over from the fresh bread to the oats, to the eggs and pork slices before nodding her head in silent approval and then picked up both dishes and was about to go and take the food to her undoubtedly still sleeping hubby when a large hand on her shoulder- stopping her cold.

"Where are you going?"

Looking back at the owner of said hand, Mya stared at the platinum haired man that she had playfully called handsome earlier and blinked. She had almost thought that the red headed guy would be the one to try and stop her. But he wasn't. Though he did look a mite irritated that the platinum haired guy was touching her.

"I'm going to take this food to Sinbad."

"Have you even bothered to eat yet my lady?"

"No." Masrur replied in her stead, his wine colored eyes boring a hole through her skull. Almost as if he were trying to figure something out.

"I'm not hungry." Mya said, it was a lie of course. She was hungry. Pretty much famished really. But she didn't like eating in front of others.

It made her uncomfortable.

Both men narrowed their eyes at her for a second before Masrur looked at Sharkkan and said something in some weird language she didn't understand a mere second before the food was plucked from her dainty little hands and she found herself being picked up bridal style by the red head and carried over to the table. Where the others were sitting quietly- watching the whole spectacle with a mixture of vexation and amusement as she was set down next to Hina and held in place by Masrur's hand as Sharkkan brought a plate over and set it in front of her.


	62. Chapter 62

"Eat." Masrur said firmly as he lightly pushed down on her shoulder when she tried to stand. Earning a dark look from his Queen before she growled softly at him, baring her little white teeth at him in annoyance before muttering.

"You guys suck. You know that?" As she glared at each and every one of them before picking up her fork and stabbing one of the items on her plate with almost enough force to actually put the tins of the eating utensil through the metal of the dish.

Which was a _tad_ bit impressive to the fanilis. Given that strength drew them like moths to flame.

But not to anyone else. In fact everyone else seemed to have expected the slight display of temper as she quickly wolfed down _half_ of what had been placed in front of her before putting her fork down and leaned back against his legs with a tired sigh.

"You need to eat the rest," He gently coaxed as Mya tipped her head back to give him a bored look before saying,

"Can't. Stomach hurts."

"That's because you haven't eaten anything lately due to your illness." Ja-far said around a bite of his breakfast.

"I'm well aware of that, my friend," She said as she folded her hands over her stomach and closed her eyes for a moment before reopening them again and asking curiously, "What do I normally do during the day?"

Causing the lot of men to blink at her before Sharkkan said almost hesitantly, "You are our Queen, lady Mya. You do whatever you wish."

"Well with my memory as messed up as it currently is- I don't know what exactly I'm supposed to do as a Queen." Mya said with a small frown as she searched her memory for any information on Queens. So far she was only coming up with Government/political figure heads, and the band Queen.

 _Hn. Looks like I never paid much attention to that sort of information_. She thought to herself before asking, "What do Queen's usually do?"

"Politically or..." Ja-far attempted to lead her a bit. It didn't work of course. She just looked at him in a funny way causing the man to set aside his fork with a sigh.

"Most Queens I've known are _ladies_. They sew, play music, dance, arrange flowers and other things. There have been next to none who have known anything about healing, been able to read or do math. Women as a general rule are left uneducated. So we aren't exactly sure what you would wish to do. Though if you were anything like Sin, you could work on improving the overall life of the less fortunate." Ja-far said honestly.

"Alright. Then lets work on several ways to do that."

 _"Huh?"_ Ja-far said unintelligibly. His green eyes wide as he stared at his Queen in disbelief.

He wasn't the only one either. The others were doing pretty much the same. Though they made far better strides at hiding it.

"Sure. Why not. You've already given me several ideas on how to make life better for the less fortunate. Besides, isn't it a King's/Queen's job to serve their people?" She said with a smile.

Blinking as he regained his composure, Ja-far finally asked. "Alright. What is it you wish to do to improve life for the less fortunate?"

"First of all, education. It's something that should be available to anyone who wishes to learn- not just the wealthy. Because even the common man has the right to learn what they wish." Ja-far nodded his head enthusiastically already liking where this was going, "So the first thing we should do is build...let's say four schools. Everyone ranging from young to old should be able to make use of them. Which means that we will need books, scrolls, writing materials and people who are educated enough to teach."

"Okay. What else?"

"The second thing that can be done to improve life, is medical care. We need some people to be trained to help others medically regardless of how wealthy or poor they are. If we have more than a dozen people to work with and teach, then anyone who get's ill in the future will stand a better chance of getting well again."

Again Ja-far nodded, his mind already going over things from building designs, to who he could contact to teach specific things while also thinking up a budget to work with.

All in all her ideas were wonderfully inspired. And excellently detailed.

 _Yes!_

They could do this. They could make this work! He thought excitedly and was startled out of his own little world by a loud whistle. Blinking he noted absently that his Queen and his friends were all missing and then turned his head towards the door.

And saw his friends and lady Mya standing there looking back at him expectantly before the girl asked, "Are you coming?" Quickly getting to his feet, he made his way to the door and followed the group out of the kitchen and onto the deck.


	63. Chapter 63

"This is a bad idea." Ja-far said under his breath as he and Sharkkan, Hinahoho and Masrur each packed a water skin and some food to eat if they became hungry so that they could follow their Queen off of the ship and into parts unknown to look for some space to build the schools she had suggested at breakfast.

"Aw, stop bitching ya little girl. I think this'll be fun." Sharkkan said as he attached a wicked looking curve bladed dagger to his belt in place of his sword.

"Lady Mya seems very enthusiastic." Masrur sad, deciding after some debate that he would add his two coin to the conversation as well.

"But- We're leaving the ship without Sinbad's knowledge!" Ja-far practically shouted at them causing Kouen (whom had just been walking by them) to pause in mid step and glance at them curiously. Upon realizing that the Kou King was staring at them with a peculiar expression on his face.

Hina quickly silenced anything more that Ja-far may have said by giving him a chop on the head like his wife Rurumu often had when he was still just an unruly child and quickly caught the barely conscious man in his arms and held him up so that it would merely look as if they were speaking.

He laughed nervously under the Kou empire's king's silent scrutiny as he awkwardly pretended that Ja-far had just told a joke as the king walked over to them and stopped for a moment to cross his arms over his chest.

"What are you doing to that man?" The king asked curiously as he eyed the slumped over blond in Hina's grasp.

"N-Nothing."

"He was just tellin a joke-" Sharkkan began to say when Hina said at the same time.

"He's sleepy."

Kouen looked from one man to another and sighed before stating, "You lot are terrible liars. I don't really care what it is that you are doing as long as King Sinbad and Lady Mya," Everyone but Ja-far's and Masrur's expressions changed a little bit from comical to sort of a cross between comical and panic.

Which might have been funny... You know, if Kouen had grown up with more than a sadistic and twisted sense of humor. The king sighed again and pinched the bridge of his nose before asking tentatively, "Lady Mya is somehow involved in whatever mess you are into, isn't she?"

"It's not a mess!" Sharrkan said, trying to wipe the worried look off of the king's face. "You see during breakfast Mya was asking questions since her memory is sort of messed up right now due to her having been ill-" He was silenced when Masrur stomped on his foot particularly hard, causing him to yelp and begin jumping around as the fanilis took over explaining.

"Lady Mya wishes to leave the ship for a bit to scout some land to build several schools in which the common man can learn whatever he wishes as well as a place to teach medicine so that the people of our country who suffer poverty no longer have to worry about not being able to get health care."

Kouen blinked, his expression looking a little bit dazed. As if the information he'd just been given was shocking to him somehow before he slowly said, "Hn. I see. Do you suppose that I may come as well? I understand why you all are going, and I do know a bit about construction and such. Perhaps I could be of some service to Lady Mya."

The generals looked a tad bit uncomfortable for a moment. After all it was one thing to play escort to their Queen. But it was quite another to play escort to a potential enemy country's king.

They were each about to say that it was up to their lady so that they would not offend the king too terribly much when Mya appeared with her own little leather satchel full of water skins and some food and smiled when she saw Kouen. "Hello King Kouen. " She greeted in a chipper tone as the king nodded his head in her direction and smiled a bit in acknowledgement of her greeting.

"Queen Mya. You're husband's general's were just telling me of your planned excursion away from the boat. Mind if I tag along?"

"Sure. I don't see any problem with you coming."

Kouen shot the general's a smirk as he said, "Then I shall go prepare. Please wait until my return."

"Okay." Mya said as she waved her hand as he waved and then turned and walked at a brisk pace back towards his cabin to grab what he needed.

"My lady-" Masrur began to say something to her, earning her undivided attention for the moment as he went on to say, "It is unwise to allow a potential enemy to go inland." He was right of course. Mya knew that. Hell anyone with half a brain _knew_ that.

But Kouen wasn't an enemy. She would have known it by now if he was one. Memory or not- bad people just tended to creep her out.

"It's fine. Besides he isn't an enemy." Mya said her tone holding nothing but her conviction that her words were the absolute truth. Masrur might have questioned her further but right about then Kouen returned with a water skin, a medium sized leather pouch and his sword.

"Alright is everyone ready?"

Kouen nodded his head while the other's looked slightly uncomfortable for a moment before nodding as well.

"Good. Then let's go everyone!" Mya said happily as she turned and began walking before tossing over her shoulder, "And someone _please_ wake that guy up."


	64. Chapter 64

**Sorry for the late update, I've been trying to work on my latest Magi story which I hope one day will have just as many avid readers as this one. And my new Yu Yu Hakusho story as well as fix my broken computer and update some stuff like some of my Ninja Turtle's stories as well as my How To Train Your Dragon story- which is doing surprisingly well.**

 **So I meant to have this chapter up sooner than now- but that just didn't work out the way that I had hoped.**

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Sinbad stretched his arms up over his head and shifted his body around ever so slightly, managing to finally pop his spine, and neck so that he could sit back in his chair more comfortably as he glanced over at Pisti whom was hovering nearby and asked, "Where is my wife?"

The young woman looked at her king and shrugged her slender shoulders. "Dunno. But she was around long enough to make everyone some food." She said as she set the tray that she was carrying down in his lap.

"And when was that?" Sinbad questioned curiously as he glanced down at the tray that his general had brought to him. It was piled high with different foods. There was a medium sized bowl of oats, a plate full of eggs with cheese and peppers in it, pork slices and of course, honey glazed bread.

All in all it was a rather impressive meal for one person to cook. And it must have taken her quite a while to finish. However it told him nothing of where she was now.

"Dunno. Around dawn this morning..." Pisti said before going on to say, "Come to think of it Hina, Ja-far, Sharrkan, Masrur and king Kouen are all MIA right now too. So wherever her ladyship is she is likely in their company."

Sinbad made a thoughtful humming sound as he picked up his fork and slowly began to eat a little bit of this and that to test how everything tasted.

It was actually very good.

So much so that he wound up cleaning all of his dishes before he even realized that he was out of food. Everything was just so good that he had practically wolfed it down without pausing. Then again, perhaps that had more to do with the fact that he was hungry?

At this point he wasn't sure. All he knew for certain was that he felt a bit better now that he had eaten something and his stomach didn't feel as if it were attempting to eat itself anymore. Why even the cramping that had awoken him barely an hour in a half ago was gone as if it had never been at all.

Which brought him back to his current predicament.

Figuring out the location of his wife...

If she was with Masrur, Sharrkan, Ja-far and her adopted father then he had nothing to fear as far as her safety was concerned. However he wasn't sure what to think of Kouen being missing as well.

While it was true enough that the man had been very accommodating in his behavior towards Sinbad and his generals, even going so far as to let them remain on his ship when Mya had been injured and then fallen ill. He wasn't completely blind to the fact that Kouen behaved as if he were taken with his wife.

And that was something that left a bad taste in Sinbad's mouth.

That another king would fall under his woman's spell so easily... Well it was irritating. And not in the usual amusing way. Why as it was he feared he would wind up locking Mya in her room back at the palace before too much longer just to keep her from wandering off.

And then there was their formal wedding...

He sort of needed to go ahead and plan it as well, though it might be easier to do if his woman were nearby. After all, he was a man. All he cared about was getting through the wedding and getting around to the wedding night and bedding her.

Well, okay that wasn't _all_ that he thought about.

Before she had gotten ill and her memory affected, he had still been going to woo her. He had wanted her to fall in love with his kingdom, his home, his people, and then him. More or less in that order since it would mean that the more she loved the other things- the more she would inevitably love him as well.

Marrying her now when she was in a vulnerable place because of her lack of memory of them... Well, it just didn't sit completely right with him.

Basically because he was taking advantage of her innocence and her trust in him.

However, he was proud to say that he still planned to make her fall in love with his kingdom, his home, his people and himself.

He'd just be doing it a little backwards, that's all.

The same with the wooing. He still perfectly intended to woo her.

However he was aware of some of the perks to going ahead with a formal wedding, for starters- Mya couldn't be taken from him as long as they were formally married. Not only that but in the unlikely event that anything should ever happen to him, and he should die- all of the loyalty of his general's would automatically go to her, as his widow.

She would have Ja-far as her helper in all political aspects of life as a Queen.

And Masrur and the other's as her body guards to make sure that any nobles who came sniffing around her after his death would get a _very_ rude awakening if they thought that they could seize his kingdom through her.

By the time they were formally wed, he'd have papers drawn up and written out to make her, the kingdom of Sindria, and any potential children they may have, completely untouchable by outside influences. And if anyone dared to attempt something that could hurt his wife or their future children...

He would see to it that Ja-far called on the rest of the rulers in the Seven Sea's Alliance to come to her aid. Of course it might mean having to go to war. But as far as he was concerned anyone dumb enough to lay a finger on his wife deserved to have him and his allies breathing down the back of their damned necks.

He was about to get up and grab one of the scrolls that Ja-far had left for him to read over while Mya had been ill- to distract him from the fact that even if his wife woke up she may or may not be the same ever again- when someone knocked on his cabin door.

Glancing around the room, he noted that 1) the tray he'd had in his lap before was gone and 2) so was Pisti.

 _When did that happened?_ He wondered before getting up and going to answer the door and was only slightly surprised to find himself face to face with King Kouen's younger brother, prince Kouha.

"Pardon the intrusion King Sinbad, but I wondered if we could speak privately?" The boy asked in a polite tone reserved only for those whom he respected or thought highly of.

Sinbad quirked a brow at him and motioned for him to enter the cabin. He had to say, he was rather curious about what was running through the boy's mind if whatever it was had him approaching him like this.

"Alright, so you wished to speak with me about something." Sinbad said politely as he moved to sit back in his chair while the teen just sort of seemed to hover a few feet from both the bed and his chair, quietly shifting from foot to foot as if he were anxious about something.

And perhaps he was. Sinbad just wished he'd speak already, he had things to do and a wife to locate.

"Ah, yes. I know this is a bit out of the blue, but I was wondering if I could remain in your kingdom as an foreign ambassador? Or if you do not wish me to do anything in that capacity I could act as one of Queen Mya's personal guards. I would even swear an oath of loyalty to you if you deem it necessary."

Sinbad was silent as he mulled over the boy's words and was about to tell him no when Kouha dropped to one knee before him and bowed his head and said, "I know that you wish to say no, but please reconsider. I may seem like a child to you, but I am a prince who has spent many years waging wars and training for specific tasks. I am a general under my brother King Kouen."

"However I am also an oddity within my country. An oddity that my older brother's and sisters try to protect from scorn because I do not follow orders as closely as I am supposed too. I am considered too kind, and lenient. Because I prefer to find a better use for strange and unusual things rather than simply destroy them... You're wife, Queen Mya could also be considered an oddity within our world. She is very sweet, and gentle and kind and there are many out there who would destroy her regardless of those things. I wish to help you protect her."

"You're asking me to allow you to stay in my kingdom and deviate from your home country. Do you really think that you're king brother would allow such a thing?" Sinbad asked in a quiet tone. His gaze calculating as he stared down at the boy.

"He will." Kouha said firmly. He knew better than anyone that his brother would not allow any harm to befall him no matter where he was. To do so would be much like admitting that he was unfit to rule, as well as being unfit to be his brother. Both of which were simply something that Kouen would never allow to occur.

Because he _was_ a good king.

And he _was_ a good brother.

So much so that when Kouha had approached him with his idea to become one of Queen Mya's personal guard's his brother have nary a thing to complain about. His plan was sound. And it would give Sindria and it's new sovereign Queen some extra added security.

After all, there weren't many lords and kings an nobles foolish enough to attempt to do something foolish to the girl with one of Kouen's own siblings acting as one of her body guard's.

He was a prince first and a general second.

And doing something foolish was simply dumb as far as Kouha was concerned, especially when it could mean that he could contact his brother and tell him of what had occurred and have a whole fleet of warships docking in their bay before they could even say, _What war_?

Besides, Kouen had already said that if he could get Sinbad's permission then he would release him from his duties as his general. He had however stressed that if he should ever find himself in trouble of any kind and unable to get out of it- that he was to use one of the household vessel's that he would give to him- to contact him _immediately_ so that he could come to his aid.

Kouha had promised to do as his brother bid him, only because his brother was demanding that he do so as an older sibling who felt the need to worry and fret over his younger sibling.

"You really think that your king would release you from his service?" Sinbad's voice cut through his thoughts like a knife. The man didn't sound the least bit impressed. But that wasn't going to stop Kouha. He _had_ to do this. He simply couldn't stress that fact enough.

He owed Queen Mya a debt that he may never be able to really repay, but dammit he was going to do his best to try. He owed the woman that much at least.

"Yes. He will. I have already spoken to my king about this and he has agreed that as long as I have your permission to do so, I will remain in Sindria and serve Queen Mya."

"And were there any stipulations or conditions to go with his permission?" Sinbad asked curiously. Kouha looked a tad bit uncomfortable for a moment before saying honestly,

"Just one. Should there ever come a time where I find myself in trouble and I cannot get either myself or your Queen out of it- I was to use one of his house hold vessel's to contact him so that he could come to help us immediately."

"I see. And can the house hold vessel be used for anything else?"

"Just communication and tracking mostly. He gave it to me as a mans of being able to speak with him if I needed too."

"And also as a means for spying."

Kouha inwardly cringed a little bit before reluctantly nodding his head. "Yeah, that too."

"You're brother must really love you." Sinbad said with a hint of amusement in his tone as the boy looked up at him, his face nearly as red as his hair as he squeaked.

"Y-Yes."

Laughing Sinbad reached out and poked the boy in the cheek with his index finger earning a small growl from the prince before Sinbad stated, "Very well. You may stay in Sindria as one of Mya's actin body guards, however you will be partnered with several of my generals, just to be safe. I want no accidents occurring on your watch, understand?"

Kouha nodded his head in agreement. Understanding very much what Sinbad meant.

There could be no foul ups where his wife was concerned.

Getting back up to his feet, Kouha bowed to Sinbad one last time before heading towards the cabin door- his mind already going over what he needed to do. He needed to pack, and have his things moved to Sinbad's palace and- he heard Sinbad call out to him just as he reached the door and turned back to see what the man wanted and frowned a bit as Sinbad clearly said,

 _"And if there ever is a time where you should do something untold towards my wife... You won't be able to communicate with your brother fast enough to spare you from a very messy end."_

Blinking at the normally peaceful king's threat, Kouha simply nodded his head again in understanding and then slipped out of the cabin and quietly closed the door behind him and then all but ran back to his room and locked himself inside. His heart hammering in his chest in alarm.

Good god what did he just sign himself up for?


	65. Chapter 65

**Sorry for the late update, I've been trying to work on my latest Magi story, Those who Sacrifice, which I hope one day will have just as many avid readers as this one. And my new Yu Yu Hakusho stories, Haunted Heart, and My Hime- Yusuke's story.**

 **As well as fix my broken comp and update some stuff on top of updating my How To Train Your Dragon story.**

 **And on top of that I'm sick again!**

 **I really can't win for losing...**

 **So anyways, I meant to have this chapter up sooner than now- but since my 103 degree fever is sort of scrambling my brain- but I thought I'd give it a go anyways. If it turns out weird- blame the sickness and I'll redo it later.**

 **K.**

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"Snake." Masrur said as he reached out and none too gently grabbed his lady Queen around the waist to keep her from stepping on the animal and possibly getting bitten. Which was good since the snake was venomous and could kill her.

Mya let out a startled squeak as she felt him wrap his arm around her slender waist and drag her back against his body in an oddly protective gesture that she didn't know what to think of as someone threw a knife and sent the blade into the area between the snake's head and body.

Killing it as it pinned it to the ground.

"Are you alright Queen Mya?" Kouen asked as he came forward to look her over. Concern etched into his normally impassive features.

She flushed and blinked at him before letting out what sounded like a weirdly awkward sounding strained squeak as she looked down at the snake and stammered out. "Y-Yeah. I'm fine." As she tapped Masrur's arm lightly to let him know that he could release her now.

Taking the hint, the fanilis released her from his grasp as Ja-far moved to dispose of the snake only to be stopped by Mya who managed to find one of the glass jars that she had packed in her bag at the last minute just in case she managed to find some fresh herbs while she was out exploring with the others, and told him to place the snake in the jar.

When asked what she planned to do with it, she just smiled at him but otherwise refused to answer him as she replaced the jar back into her bag and began walking again.

They had been walking in relative silence since their departure, and though she had the occasional question about the area that they were in- she had managed to have the area marked down as a potential spot for a school before they decided that it was late enough to break for lunch.

Finding a nice shady place under a large tree everyone sat down as Mya unloaded the food that she had had the foresight to bring for everyone and attempted to make some idle conversation to pass the time.

"This is nice."

"..."

 _Geez, tough crowd._ She thought as she looked from one person to another. Everyone was concentrating on eating and trying to ignore everything else. Sighing she decided that she had suddenly lost her apatite and began to re wrap her food so that she could put it away when a large hand lightly grasped her wrist and stopped her.

Blinking, she slowly turned her head to find Sharkkan was the one keeping her from putting her lunch up. He had set aside his food and was scowling at her slightly.

The look on his face could have sent a lesser person diving for cover, but not her. Besides, she had a feeling that she knew what he was going to say and do next if she didn't cooperate.

"Lady Mya, why aren't you eating? You must be hungry again by now." He was observant. She thought wryly as she looked him in the eye and flat out lied.

"Not really."

"Oh?" He questioned, his one suddenly drawing the attention of the rest of their group. Damn the man's hide.

"Yeah."

"The only reason that you should have for not eating is if something's wrong."

"Something is. But it'll straighten itself out in the next six to eight months or so." She said honestly, not wishing to flat out explain that she was so used to going without food off and on that her stomach had shrunken more than the average size that could be considered healthy for an adult.

After all when she had been a kid she had fucked her body up pretty badly without meaning too.

She had forgotten that she would go without food so often that she usually wound up in the hospital before she could even do anything. Those were fairly dark times for her. She couldn't even recall how many times she had come close to starving to death before she had figured out her limit...

Two in a half weeks.

If she had enough fat to burn, then she could generally go without food for two in a half weeks before she began suffering from dizziness, fainting spells, vomiting and other things.

And since she had been eating almost regularly, she said almost because she hadn't been conscious for a while and had no idea if anyone had attempted to feed her something like rice porridge or not.

"Lady Mya," His voice jolted her out of her thoughts to find that he had moved a little bit closer. His face was so close that she actually reached up and shoved his head back on his neck causing him to yelp as she quickly bounded to her feet and growled,

"I'm fine! Now finish your lunch and leave me the hell alone. Geez! Stupid boy." She took a moment to glare at Sharkkan before making a tsking sound and putting her food away so that if she got hungry later she would still have something to eat before pulling out a couple of ribbons and quickly used them to tie her hair back with before getting back up again and then started walking.

"Lady Mya! Where are you going?"

"To practice some of the stuff my late grandfather taught me." She called back over her shoulder in response to the question.

"Which stuff? The hand to hand or the assassination stuff?"

"Both." She called back again as she walked a fair distance from the group and finally stopped when she felt that she was far enough away so as not to cause any of them injury if things got a little out of hand.

Carefully she positioned her body into a defensive stance as she tried to think of something that would fit not only her current mood but her fighting style and finally smiled to herself in amusement as the version of Corn's 'Kidnap the Sandy Clause' began going through her head.

After all, nothing was better to fight too when you were feeling just a bit unstable than a song sung by a man who possibly had four or more alternate personalities.


	66. Chapter 66

"Is it a good idea to let your Queen do this? I mean she is still recovering from her illness right?" Kouen asked the person nearest to him and was met by silence for a moment before Ja-far replied.

"As long as she doesn't take things too far, everything should be fine. Besides, I'm curious to see just a little bit of what she can do."

"Ah, I see..." Kouen said before hesitantly asking, "What exactly did you mean before when you asked her if she was going to practice 'the assassination stuff' or the 'other stuff'?"

"Well, you see- The other day when she woke up without her memories. She was unable to tell who we were, however she recalled bits and pieces of her life before now. When she was younger. Getting ill, losing her memory for the first time. She told us that it was during that time that her grandfather decided to teach her some fighting techniques so that anyone who tried to take advantage of her memory loss, would suffer greatly for it."

"I see." Was all that Kouen could think to say as he and the others watched Mya as she moved. Her actions were fluid and graceful. Far different from Ja-far's own when he fought.

She went through several different kata's, taking each movement slowly just in case she should become hindered by her clothing or lose her footing or become dizzy and nauseous- since that seemed to be the biggest issue at the moment.

She kept having to remind herself not to push herself too hard otherwise she'd get sick again.

Once she was done with her kata's she took a moment to check her pulse. Making sure that it wasn't too slow or too high otherwise she would have to force it to either slow or go faster.

Under her fingertips she could feel the steady beat that rhythmically pushed her blood through her veins and decided that she should stop for now otherwise she might wind up unconscious with another fever. After all, she was still recovering and pushing herself to do what her body wasn't able too at that exact moment, was a very bad idea.

Sighing softly she tilted her head back and looked up at the canopy of tree limbs hanging over her head and tried to imagine what it would be like to have her children running through area's such as this one.

Would they like it? Would they decide to hide up in the trees when they got into trouble or were distraught? _Would they_ _grow up happy here?_ No matter how hard she imagined, or wondered. Her thoughts always returned to the same question.

Would her children grow up happy here?

It was a valid concern, all things considered. Especially since her 'wedding' would occur sometime in the near future. She was so lost in her own thoughts that she never noticed that the guys were finishing up their lunch while Hina walked over to her and stood directly behind her for a moment before she seemed to notice him.

"What were you thinking just now?" He asked curiously.

Mya silently regarded him for a moment before bothering to reply, "I was trying to think of my future children and if they would be happy growing up here? To be perfectly honest I think I'm a little scared of what changes tomorrow may bring. Silly huh?"

"No. It isn't silly. My lady, it's alright to worry about such things. Just know that Sinbad adores you-"

"I don't think that he knows me well enough to adore me."

Hina gave her a gentle, playful shove as e fixed his blue eyes on her face and said, "He knows enough about you to adore you. We all do. And our kingdom is a wonderful place for children to grow up. Sinbad would spoil them outrageously."

"Not to mention the rest of you." Mya said and was rewarded with another gentle, playful shove from the giant that had her laughing as his face turned red and he tried to sputter out a denial. After all he was a warrior, he didn't spoil children... _Sort of._

Gradually after a moment or so her laughter died down to a small knowing smile as she thought.

 _Yes, Sinbad would love and spoil his children._ And it was true. Anyone that so much as talked to the man for two minutes would know this to be the total and absolute truth of things. However they still needed some time to themselves before they could so much as even think of having kids.

Especially since he was a king.

She was no expert in navigating politics and such. But she worried that by marrying him (again) that she would not only be living with a target painted on her back, but any offspring that they managed to have would as well. It was certainly something that had been popping into her head off and on. After all, she couldn't exactly get it to stop.

It was just another valid concern for her to think on.

Perhaps she could even talk about it with her husband over a nice quiet dinner later on. Speaking of which... "Hey guys, think we should go back to the ship early?" She asked curiously. Despite having been out to survey the land for most of the morning, she was now beginning to tire and felt that they should return to the ship before one of them wound up carrying her or something.

Besides, they had some time within the next few weeks that would allow them to continue to search out the ideal spot for the school and the building where medicine would be taught.

"Why? Is something wrong?" Ja-far asked as he walked over.

Mya smiled at him and slowly shook her head no. Noting that the mere action made her feel dizzy and somewhat weak. She stumbled for a second without meaning too and automatically felt a pair of hands lightly grasp her shoulders to steady her and looked up at Kouen and blinked as the man said, "You've overtaxed your strength."

How someone could say something so simply and make it sound like an accusation she would never know. But he managed to somehow pull it off.

Mya hummed and shrugged her shoulders, not really trusting herself to speak without the possibility of accidentally puking on the poor man's nice, expensive looking shoes.

"Is that true Lady Mya?" Sharkkan asked, looking concerned. Mya hummed again as she slowly moved away from Kouen and began walking only to hear Masrur call out in warning.

"Rock." Just before she tripped and wound up tumbling head first down a steep hill that had been hidden by the trees and underbrush.


	67. Chapter 67

Sinbad was sitting on the deck of Kouen's ship when he heard his wife's voice and turned his head to see Ja-far, Masrur, Sharkkan, Hinahoho, and Kouen walking up the ramp with his wife being carried in the crook of one of Hina's arms. Blinking, Sinbad frowned a little at her disheveled appearance.

 _What on earth happened?_ He wondered as the group finally reached the deck and began to split up a bit. Kouen practically running for his cabin with his hand clapped over his mouth. Ja-far wandering over to where he stood with what looked like an amused look on his face as he turned to watch _some_ unnamed event as it unfolded.

"I've never seen someone so graceful trip over their own feet before!" Sharkkan wheezed between peals of hysterical laughter that had him doubled over and unable to so much as walk straight.

"Oh shut it! Anyone would trip after hearing 'rock' being called out to them like that. All I could think after hearing that was, 'Where is the rock?' Is it in front of me? Beside me? Behind me? Is it dangling above my fricking head? So yeah, I tripped. It happens to the best of us. So stop laughing you beast, before I get Masrur to punch you!" Mya ranted as she shook her tiny fist at the man.

Which much to her displeasure made Sharkkan just laugh that much harder.

Looking over at Ja-far, Sinbad gave his friend a questioning look that had the man damn near in stitches before he seemed to sober himself enough to say, "We were on our way back to the ship when Masrur called out to warn Lady Mya of a rock just in front of her. But the very second he called out his warning, she tripped over it and went tumbling down a very steep hill and it took us almost twenty minutes to recover her. She has a slightly twisted ankle and some small bruises from her tumble but is other wise okay. Merely mortified. Of course it doesn't help that Sharkkan has been teasing her mercilessly the whole trip back."

"Ah." Was all that Sinbad said as Mya continued to tell Sharkkan to shut up before her patience finally wore thin an she motioned for Masrur to punch the man.

Which he did.

Happily, if Sinbad may add, sending Sharkkan crashing to the deck with a thud where he lay stunned as Mya thanked the fanilis who nodded his head and walked off to preform his duties with a slight blush coloring his face.

Leaving Hinahoho to move to stand before his king and gently place his adopted daughter on her feet and then bolted off to hide somewhere so that he could laugh without fear of being injured for it by his fellow general.

The second that Mya was on her feet again, she looked at her husband and awkwardly said, "Hello dear."

"Good evening love." Sinbad greeted as she turned herself completely to face him and sort of hobbled over to him on her injured foot and startled his by wrapping her arms around his torso and hugged him.

Sinbad wasn't exactly sure how to react at first. Especially since he had never truly hugged or held Mya with the exceptions of the time that she had been injured by Hina's spear or when she had fallen ill. So naturally when she hugged him, he hesitated to return the affectionate embrace. However knew that she would likely think that he was upset with her if he didn't.

It was a bit of a quandary really.

One of those, damned if you do and damned if you don't moments.

So he did the only practical thing that he could think of. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her back as he dipped his head a bit to press a kiss against her forehead.

His honey gold eyes drifting shut for a moment as he relished the soft feel of her body pressed against his own, and her slender arms wrapped around his body. Holding him tight as she ducked her head and pressed her face against his chest in a lame attempt to hide the blush she was sporting.

Causing the corner's of Sinbad's lips to curve up a little bit in the smallest of smiles as he lifted a hand to run his fingers through her tangled pale silvery blond hair for a moment before he bent down and slipped one of his arms under her knees and lifted her up so that she wasn't standing on her bad ankle anymore.

Grinning down at the red faced woman and without a word simply excused himself from the company of his general's so that he could go and attend to his poor wife.

The day was growing late and from what he knew aside from her bad tumble down a steep hill and her injured ankle, she had been wandering around his kingdom all day when she had barely had a chance to fully recover from her illness.

And once he took care of her ankle and her bruises, he was going to help her wash up, change her clothing and then put her to bed for a nice long nap.

Mainly so that he could be sure that she was well rested for later in the evening, just in case she wished to get up and move about a bit more. Not only that but he had some questions for his general's about what they had been doing all day, and he didn't want Mya upset at him if what they had all been doing was meant to be some sort of surprise or something.

"Where are we going?"

"Hmm? Oh, I'm taking you to our cabin so that I can tend to your wounds, help you wash up and change your clothing and then put you down for a nap."

She hummed but made no comment for a moment as he used his shoulder to push the door to their cabin open and walked the short distance to the bed, where he set carefully her down before he then straightened back up and walked over to the door and shut it.

"There. Now we can have all the privacy we need." He said cheerfully as he began to move across the cabin to a small shelf nailed to the wall and unlatched it so that he could pull out what he would need to treat her ankle when he heard her say.

"Privacy huh. You know if I didn't know better I'd say that you were feeling...frisky."

He turned his head a little bit to look at her and noted that she was laying down on the bed with her head dangling off of the side. Her green eyes staring at him with an almost mischievous light. Causing him to quirk a brow at her curious use of words.

 _What does she mean by 'frisky'?_ Was it a code for something? He wondered as he finished collecting the salve and bandages and then walked over to the bed. Noting that Mya apparently had no intention of sitting back up or hiking up her skirt to allow him access to her injured ankle as he knelt down on the floor next to the bed, just where her legs dangled off of the side of the bed and very slowly, almost as if he were afraid to touch her reached out and took her ankle in his hands.

Mya's leg twitched in his grasp as he gently probed the slightly swollen area to see just how painful it was for her. She didn't react much so either it wasn't terribly painful or she was just really good at ignoring pain.

He worried that it was the latter.

Releasing her for a moment he picked up the jar of healing salve that smelled strongly of roses and lavender with faint undertones of mint, and dipped his fingers inside the jar so that he could coat them thoroughly before he returned his hands to her ankle.

The sensation of his fingers working the salve into her skin startled her so badly that she actually bolted upright to see just what he was doing before she gave in to the temptation of kicking him.

He was careful, gentle, methodical in his actions, each one carefully thought out and calculated as he finished working the salve into her skin, causing an pleasant tingle to begin to take place in lieu of the somewhat painful throbbing that she had felt up until now.

Once he was done rubbing the salve into her skin, he then picked up a roll of bandages and began to wrap her foot as he asked, "What all did you do today?"

"Well, I got up and cooked breakfast for everyone," He paused for a moment as he tilted his head back to look up at her, his eyes carefully studying her expression as he then asked,

"Didn't that bother you?" He wasn't sure what he was expecting, after all she had cooked in his palace too. But for some reason e couldn't explain, he didn't want her cooking on this ship unless it was just for herself. As far as he was concerned no one but he and his generals had the right to eat of the things that she prepared.

"Hn? Oh no. It didn't bother me. It did however bother me that Sharkkan and the others practically forced me to eat when I didn't really want too." He cocked his head at that, but said nothing as he resumed wrapping her ankle and listened to her talk.

"I asked Ja-far what a Queen does. I don't think that he explained things very well cause I decided to do things my own way more or less." He was looking at her again. His stare was almost as unsettling as Masrur's could be when he refused to blink...

She had half a mind to reach out and poke him in the eyes. But refrained from doing so since it was childish.

"I decided that our home needed several schools where the common folks could go to learn whatever they wanted. I also decided that everyone should have available medical care just in case they needed it. So when me and the others left the ship, it was to scout for land in which to build these places. Kouen came along because he thought he could offer some help. We found at least one decent spot for a school, and then I started to feel weak and kind of like I was going to collapse and told the guys we should head back. And after that, Masrur distracted me by calling out 'rock' and I tripped. The rest I'm sure that you already figured out for yourself."

He finished tying off the bandages and looked at her again.

Oh yes, he had figured the rest out. Thanks entirely to her earlier ranting at Sharkkan and Ja-far's admittance.

"It sounds as if you've had a very busy day." He said as he lifted her leg just enough so that he could kiss the bandages over her injury before he reluctantly released her ankle and then said, "Ja-far mentioned that you had some bruises from your fall. Show me."

"Oh. Uh...their mainly on my legs and back- Ekk!" Mya shrieked as Sinbad more or less toppled her over by grasping her uninjured leg and tugging on it until her legs were practically resting over both of his shoulders. His hands had hiked up her skirt almost to her hips and he was looking for the small discolorations when she tried to sit up and push her skirt back down only to be stopped when he found one.

It was smaller than the ones on her back, thank god, but it didn't stop him from taking hold of her leg again and pressing his lips against the bruised skin of her inner knee, causing her to twitch again. Almost nervously as he kissed each and every place where she was bruised until she felt him abruptly release her legs and stand so that he towered over her and demanded, "The rest."

And before she could so much as shake her head no, he was already loosening the belt to her dress and once he had finished with that task, he slipped his hands underneath her and then flipped her so that she was lying on her stomach.

To shocked for words, all she could do was lay there as she felt the mattress on either side of her waist give a bit from what she could only assume was Sinbad's heavy weight as she felt his fingers brushed her long hair out of the way so that he could peel her dress off of her a bit and see for himself how much damage she had sustained.

He found it peculiar that she didn't bother to try and fight him. But he didn't truly question it as he pulled the cloth down her arms until he had her entire upper body bared and sucked in a ragged breath as he took in the discolorations spread out across her skin.

Blue's and vivid purples. Even some painful looking yellows colored her once flawless skin.

Reaching out, he placed his hands on either side of her head and leaned over her and kissed each one just as he had with her other bruises.

Causing Mya to stiffen slightly at his touch and bury her face against the mattress until he slipped his hands under her and without warning pulled her up so that she was sitting in his lap as he kissed the side of her neck, up along the curve of her jaw and then inevitably, worked his way to her lips before taking possession of them.

His wife. His sweet, sweet girl...

She really needed a keeper to keep her from getting injured all the damn time. Honestly it was beginning to wear on his nerves. It was just a good thing that he was feeling up to the task of keeping her out of trouble. He mused as he pulled away from her so that he could see her expression and almost laughed at the weirdly amusing look on her pretty face that was half bliss/ half comical horror.


	68. Chapter 68

Sinbad couldn't seem to take his eyes off of his wife.

All throughout their dinner together he had been watching her every single move. His honey gold eyes focused on every little thing she did, taking in every minute detail and habit that she had (like the way she liked to keep her food from touching in some places).

And so far one of the things that he had taken an avid interest in noticing was the fact that between every few bites or so of food, she would look at him. _At him._ The mere thought alone that his wife was trying to covertly study him as he was her sent a thrill of excitement through him.

And then she would use her tongue to wet her lips a little and then she would catch him catching her staring and then she would blush and quickly look away again.

So far she had repeated this pattern a number of thirty eight times.

And now- now Sinbad decided that it was time to ruffle her feathers just a little bit more. Just for the sake of having some good natured fun at his wife's expense.

So he waited until the next time she looked at him before asking, "Do you see something that you like, my love?" Causing Mya to squeak in that adorable _I've-been-caught-red-handed_ manner that was quickly becoming so familiar to him, and look away from him so quickly that he could hear the vertebrae in her neck popping.

 _P_ _ainfully,_ he might add.

Concerned that his wife may have just broken her own neck or something, he started to get to his feet when she turned back to look at him- which seemed to calm his rattled nerves somewhat- but only just so. As he sank back down and leaned back in his seat, he took a moment to wish that he were drinking wine or mulled cider instead of...some sort of weird fruit juice concoction that had been prepared for them.

"It's not nice to tease Sinbad." Mya said after a moment or so, the sound of her voice saying his name nearly causing him to choke on the juice he had just taken a drink of. He was...just so startled that he convulsively swallowed and wound up with the juice going down the wrong way.

Getting up, Mya walked over to his side of the table and thumped him on the back a time or two as he coughed until his throat was clear again and he could safely breathe. It was only then that he seemed to notice that his wife was leaning over his back a little bit, one small hand rubbing between his shoulders in a soothing motion that almost made him twitchy.

Not because she was tickling him or anything, but because the last time he'd had a woman do such a thing had been when he was still a young boy. He had gotten ill and his mother had stayed up all night rubbing his back to help him relax and rest for a bit.

And ever since then- while he had always enjoyed having his back rubbed- he usually didn't let women touch him like this because he was somewhat worried that the memory of his mother may be replaced. And yet...he wasn't stopping Mya.

Maybe because he wanted her to touch him, or maybe it was something else. Whatever the reason, he held himself perfectly still and let her rub his back for another moment or so before she leaned over his shoulder a bit and looked at him, her hand stilling in mid motion and coming to rest just a tad bit above his shoulder blades as she asked, "Are you alright now?"

Nodding his head mutely, she smiled at him and then returned to her seat. Completely missing the way he ducked his head and blushed.

 _Dear god what is wrong with me?_ He wondered as he watched Mya. He'd never felt so awkward with a woman before. Mainly because he was used to them fawning over him and flirting with him, but with his wife he didn't get attention like that.

What he got was little snippets of affection that both startled and surprised him. It was almost like it was his birthday and the one person he thought had forgotten or was too busy to celebrate it- still showed up with a gift and spent time with him despite knowing that said person would likely be kicking themselves for it later on.

Still, what he got was snippets of affection.

And while he understood that their relationship would need to begin with baby steps, he wasn't sure if he could stand the stress of wooing Mya. Especially when he had only just began earlier that day when he had treated her injuries and helped her bathe and dress and then made her lay down for a nap.

And then there had been the kiss...

That wonderfully mind blowing kiss.

He doubted that he had ever truly appreciated a kiss with a woman as much as he had appreciated his kiss with Mya. Of course part of the reason he suspected that he had appreciated it so much was probably because it was their first kiss together.

"Are you alright Sinbad?" Mya's voice cut through his thoughts like a knife. Causing him to sit up a little straighter and absently brush his bangs out of his eyes so that he could see her better as he replied in a way that almost made him cringe.

"Yes. I'm good. Everything is fine. You?" The moment that he stopped speaking his smile faltered and he almost banged his head on the table in utter disgust with himself.

He was a king for crying out loud! A man who was confident in all things he did.

And here he was acting like some untried youth with his first love.

He was making an utter fool of himself, but he didn't know what else to do. Wooing a woman was tricky business and Mya was for lack of a better term- more or less immune to his charms!

Wooing such a woman was enough to drive any sane man mad. And since he had no real idea of how to go about things, especially since Mya wasn't the typical _buy-me-a-new-dress_ and _buy-me-a-bauble_ sort of girl, getting her anymore dresses and baubles was more or less a pointless endeavor. So perhaps he should try asking her what she liked instead. God knew that that may make things a great deal easier for him in the long run.

And it would also serve the purpose of helping him to get to know her a bit more.

"I'm fine. But you seem like your thinking about something."

"I am." He admitted as he pushed his plate away and rested his elbows on the table so that he could lace his fingers together. "I was thinking that since our wedding- the first one- was so rushed, that perhaps we should take a while to...court properly." Mya opened her mouth to ask him if he had forgotten about their second wedding which was coming up in a few days however he beat her to it and merely said, "I haven't forgotten our formal wedding. It will still take place in a few days time. I merely wish you to have a proper courtship."

"Oh. Well that actually sounds pretty romantic. What were you planning for us?" Mya asked curiously as she carefully set her own plate aside so that she could rest her arms on the table and prop her chin up in one of her hands.

"Well-" Sinbad started out but then faltered and said honestly, "When we first married I didn't know much of anything about you. And to be frank, I still don't. But I would like to use the next few months to get to know you better. Your likes,"

"Flowers. Books. Cooking. Medicine. Making jewelry, perfumes and scented lotions. And making new friends." Mya replied before saying, "But if you need more detail, I can give you some. Favorite flowers- white and pink tiger lilies, bachelor buttons, peonies, magnolia's, jasmine, lilac, wisteria, orange blossoms, daisy's, orchids, iris's, roses, and baby's breath. The colors don't really matter. Hobbies, cooking, medicine, making new friends, reading, writing stories and novels, collecting ghost stories, making perfumes and scented lotions, playing with little kids..." Sinbad was giving her his undivided attention since he doubted that he could afford to miss anything at this point in the game.

"Favorite drinks, are mostly herbal teas. Jasmine, rose hip, orange blossom, lemongrass, pumpkin spice, chai spice, vanilla, chamomile and honey... I occasionally like drinking spiced cider, and hot chocolate but that's usually during the winter when it's cold outside. Each one is really good and tastes great. They also serve dual purposes like helping increase one's immune system to prevent illness and helping to relax the body so that the one drinking them can have a more restful sleep."

Sinbad nodded his head and wondered if he should perhaps start writing some of this stuff down.

"I have no real favorite foods. I'm not a huge fan of alcohol. If I'm having trouble sleeping for several days on end I usually lock myself in a small workshop that I set up so that I can make things. Jewelry, perfumes, and lotions like I mentioned before. And usually by the time I'm totally done I have so much stuff that I have to go through it before I can go to sleep and set a majority of it aside for my own use or the use of friends and the rest I sell and give the funds to-" Mya stopped talking for a moment, her smile faltering as he waited for her to finish what she was going to say.

"I usually give the money to families who have sick or dying kids... So that they can pay for better medical treatment or toys to help distract them for a little while. I usually have enough to help make up to thirty families buy toys, and better medicines to make their kids more comfortable." It was at this point that Sinbad realized the problem that his wife seemed to be having. Muttering a soft oath to himself, he quickly got up out of his seat and went to her and knelt down beside her chair.

Reaching out he framed her face with his hands and tried to sooth her as she kept talking, "Oh god, those kids. Sinbad I've _always_ helped them. Even when I was still in school, even when my parents and brothers died and I went to live with my grandfather. _Even when I forgot things_ \- their families have always counted on me to help them! If I'm not there, who's going to help them?"

She was crying now, her face nearly bloodless in his grasp, it was so pale that it began to frighten him. Quickly getting to his feet, he slipped his arms around her and pulled her from her seat, into his arms and scooped her up and began towards their cabin when he stopped half way there, unsure of whether or not it was a good idea to take her back.

He knew that the realization that she would no longer be able to help the people that she had before was a shock, but she still wasn't totally recovered from her illness from before. And the last thing he wanted for her was for her to suffer another bought of sickness that just might actually leave her bed ridden or worse this time around, but at the moment he wasn't all that sure how to help her.

So he did the only real thing that he could think of. He retreated to a nice dark corner and settled himself down on the deck of the ship with Mya carefully cradled in his arms and simply let her cry until she was spent.


	69. Chapter 69

Sinbad didn't sleep much at all that night after Mya finally settled down and fell into a dreamless sleep. He was far too busy thinking over what she had said in her panicked state. To be perfectly honest he had thought that with her grandfather having died a year ago that she would not wish to return to her home land once she had fully settled into the role of his wife and Queen.

It had never once even occurred to him that he was perhaps taking her away from important matters and obligations that she normally carried out.

He had simply been so happy to find her. He had become fascinated by her everyday life on the other side of the mirror. And then before he had realized it, she had become an obsession to him. Someone that he had longed for. He had began to wonder what her name was, what sort of life she lived- for the most part she seemed happy. But that wasn't enough for him.

He had finally found the perfect woman and had fallen in love with her, even if it was from a distance too great for him to fathom- he never woke or slept without thinking of her. Seeing her smile, hearing her sweet voice... Ad that was perhaps why he had married her the night that she had appeared in his bedroom.

He had wanted to find a way to bind her to him. And what could possibly be more permanent than marriage? Of course thinking back on it now, he knew that he should have stopped to consider these things. But he had merely wished to be selfish, just once.

To devote himself to someone by his side. Rather than simply take care of someone within close proximity to him like he usually did. He had so few people in his life that he actually cared for aside from his general's and their families.

But they weren't his. Not really. His generals followed him because of mutual goals and respect. Their families welcomed him for the same reasons.

None of those had to do with love. And love was the one thing that he craved so desperately that he sought it out in all of the wrong ways.

 _God I'm such a fool_. Sinbad thought guiltily as he laid Mya on their bed and quietly removed her shoes so that he could tuck her in for the night. He was angry with himself for being so foolishly careless. A husband was supposed to _protect_ his wife not hurt her.

And yet that was exactly what he had done. Albeit unintentionally.

He had hurt Mya. And for that he was genuinely regretful.

Drawing the covers up over her sleeping form, he gently tucked her in and then slipped his heavy wool robe from his shoulders and placed it on top of the covers over Mya's form for added warmth and then reached out to smooth back her hair from her face and paused when he felt how warm her skin was to the touch.

 _Oh no! No, no, no!_ Sinbad thought to himself in a panic as he realized that she was running another fever. It wasn't high like the last one had been, but that could change at any given time. And that in itself was worrying to him as he quickly left the cabin to go to the kitchen and make some of the willow bark tea that he had asked Ja-far to use on Mya the last time she had been ill.

It was fairly late in the evening now. Well into the early morning hours if he calculated correctly. And the sea wind outside of the cabin was colder than usual.

Strange how he hadn't noticed that before now. But then again, he had sat on the deck of the ship for several hours letting Mya cry her heart out. Could the chill of the wind gone unnoticed in the face of his love's anguish? He wondered to himself even when he was pretty sure that 'yes' was the answer.

And if so, was that perhaps the reason she was beginning to run another fever? And not the unusual strain that she had been placing on herself with her little adventures.

Entering the kitchen, Sinbad had anticipated being alone. Not finding a few of his generals drinking and talking. Up until of course, they noticed him standing in the doorway. Hesitating to enter.

"Sin. What are you doing up at this hour?" Hina asked curiously as Sin let out several breaths before saying.

"Nothing. I just wanted to come and make some tea to drink."

"Oh?" Hina said as he tilted his head a bit and studied his friend. Sin was acting strange. Well, strange for him at least.

"Yeah."

"That's...unusual for you." The giant said when Sharkkan finally piped in.

"Especially since you usually drink either wine or mulled cider this late in the evening because passing out from overindulgence sometimes helps you sleep."

Sinbad didn't bother saying anything more. In fact he simply began to ignore them as he collected what he needed and began to fix the ingredients needed when a shadow fell over him and he stilled his movements for a moment as he felt Hina's large hand settle on his shoulder as the giant said.

"That's willow bark tea."

Sinbad wished to make some smartass remark about how observant the man was, but right now picking a fight with his friend wasn't what was needed. Besides, Hina would kick his ass and then some because of how distracted he currently was.

"Are you sick, my friend?"

"No." Sinbad sighed as he began to finish up the mixture before reaching over and grabbing the honey jar and adding some of the golden amber to the mix and then stirred it to make sure that it was all perfectly blended.

"Lady Mya?"

Sinbad gave a slight nod as his other generals all quickly climbed to their feet and moved over to where he was standing and took up flank around Hina as the giant asked. "How bad?"

"I don't know. She just started running a fever. I need to get this to her before it gets worse." Sinbad replied as he picked up the cup and was stopped by Hina for a moment as the man grabbed a dish and began to move around the kitchen until he had some breads, cheese, meats, fruits and soup all stuffed together on the dish and then motioned with his head for Sin to start walking.

Catching on quickly, his king nodded his head and did as the older man bid him as the both left the kitchen and made their way to Sinbad and Mya's cabin and silently entered.

Mya hadn't stirred or so much as moved from the looks of it, though it also appeared to Sin that his poor wife was suffering from some chills since she had curled herself up on one of her sides and was attempting to keep herself warm.

Seeing her in such a state made Sinbad move all that much faster just to get to her side, leaving his friend to carefully close the door behind them as Sin reached out and wrapped his arms around Mya and tugged her into a partially upright position so that he could give her some of the tea while Hina set the plate of food down and then moved to stand next to his king as he watched him care for his adopted daughter.

The moment Sinbad was done forcing the tea down his wife's throat, he then checked to see how much of it was left, just in case he would need it again later and found that about half of it was gone. Sighing, he set the small cup aside on the bedside table and then carefully lowered his wife back onto the mattress and pulled the blanket up over her body again before grabbing his robe and replacing it over her as well when he finally noticed that Hina had moved away from him and was crawling into bed with his wife.

Bristling a bit at his friend's antics, Sinbad let out a threatening growl before the man even bothered to look at him with a puzzled look on his face. "What?"

"Don't you 'what' me! Just what the hell are you doing?"

"My daughter is sick." Hina said as if those words alone should have told Sinbad all he wanted to know. Instead it only served to irk the man even more.

"Get out of that bed right now!"

"Sin."

"What?" Sinbad growled out at him causing the giant to practically roll his eyes at him. Gods, for a man so often called brilliant, his king could certainly be dense sometimes.

"Shut up in and climb in on the other side of her." Hina said as he made himself comfortable and then waited until... He could practically see the little oil lamp spark to life over Sinbad's head as he finally realized what he was doing and then quickly slid into bed on the other side of Mya and wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him and rested his chin on the top of her head as he shot Hina a look that didn't bode well at all for the giant.

In fact if he didn't know any better then he would swear that Sinbad was thinking- _"Oh hell no!"_ Hina suddenly whisper/shouted at his old friend. "You are _not_ telling my wife about this!" Hina hissed out at him as Sinbad merely blinked his golden eyes at him and tightened his arms around his wife as he thought, _Oh yes I am. I'm telling and then I intend to stick around to watch her beat you senseless. That'll teach you to crawl into bed with my wife._

As Hina quieted down and stared at him for a moment before making a comment that he looked to have much in common with dragons while he held his 'treasure' and glared at him like that.

Sinbad only blinked in response.


	70. Chapter 70

Over the course of the next two or three days, Mya's fever didn't break. But it didn't exactly go any higher either. So Sinbad supposed that that was something at least.

Even though it left Mya feeling exhausted and miserable the whole damn time.

And that in turn made Sinbad feel rather miserable himself, though it wasn't the absolute reason for his misery. Ever since his dinner the other night his mind had been plagued by the things that had caused his love to cry. He felt _badly_ for taking her away from the one's who needed her.

However he no longer neither possessed the strength nor will to send her back to her home land to resume her former life.

And for that he would simply have to find a way to make things up to Mya. He didn't know how or when, but he would make this transgression of his, up to her.

He loved her too damn much to let something like this come between them.

Sighing, he stared out over the railing of the ship at the rolling waves of the ocean. Today was their last day aboard Kouen's ship before he was to set sail for the Kou empire. And so far, Sinbad had sent everyone but Masrur, Hina, and Ja-far back to the palace with his and Mya's things where he had soon after received word that many of his friends from the Seven Sea's Alliance were already beginning to arrive at the palace for the upcoming wedding, so that they could meet his Queen.

He had wished that his wife would be feeling better by today, especially with their wedding coming up within the next few days. However he could see now that that might not happen for a while yet.

At present Kouen was spending a little bit of time with his brother before he left. Apparently the man was a tad bit reluctant to release Kouha into Sinbad's care, however the boy was adamant about being released from his duties as one of Kou's generals so that he could serve as one of Mya's bodyguards.

And while Kouen had promised he would release him if he gained Sinbad's permission, there was something that Kouha kept forgetting. He was Kouen's precious little brother. And despite Kouen's somewhat aloofness with people- he cared very much for his siblings. Each and every one of them.

Losing even one of them to the king, was akin to loosing a limb or vital organ.

Sinbad could empathize he supposed, even though he had never had siblings of his own growing up, he could imagine that he understood very well how others in Kouen's position would feel at a time like this. If he were in the man's place he'd be stealing a few more moments with his sibling too.

If he had one that is.

Hearing the cabin door open, Sinbad found himself automatically straightening up from his slouched position as he turned his head to look over at his wife as she emerged from their cabin dressed in a soft off the shoulder pink dress with green and lavender purple flowering vines around the neck, cuffs of the sleeves, middle and hem of the skirt.

She had apparently decided that she was up to expending a little bit of energy today if her appearance was anything to go by. Aside from the dress, Mya was freshly bathed, her long silvery blond hair had been washed and brushed and then carefully styled in an odd knot up towards the top of her head. Leaving various strands of silken silvery blond hair to fall around her nape and shoulders in a fetching manner.

All in all, he had to say- aside from the fever she was still suffering from, his wife looked good.

"Hi." Mya said awkwardly as she shut the cabin door behind her and stepped a little further out onto the deck of the ship. Sinbad didn't really say anything since he felt that he couldn't trust himself to speak at the moment. He did however walk over to her and take her small hands within his own and lift them to his lips and took a moment to kiss them both as he studied her from underneath lowered lids.

She still looked pale, though not as pale as she had been the past few days. Hopefully that meant that she was finally on the mend. "Hello my love. How are you feeling today?"

"A bit better than before. Still kind of tired though." She said as he nodded his head in understanding and laced his fingers together with hers.

"I see. Well you look a bit better, your coloring has improved greatly compared to the past few days." Sinbad said as the two of them began to move towards the ramp of the ship when Kouen and his brother walked out of the man's cabin and stopped them.

"Sinbad," Kouen said in greeting before turning to Mya and giving her a kind smile. "Lady Mya, as of today my brother is cutting ties with our country to join your household and serve as one of Lady Mya's personal bodyguards. I have done the necessary paperwork, and sent the necessary messages and found Kouha's replacement as a general. Now I leave my little brother in your hands. Please care for him well." Kouen said with a bow as Mya turned her head to look at her husband, a frown marring her pretty face as she realized what was happening.

She might have said something about it, but Kouen then said. "Lady Mya," Drawing her attention back to him so that he could finish speaking. It was at this point that Kouen drew his sword and knelt on the deck of his ship at her feet and held out his sword to her. "A king is never meant to bow to another, for doing so is seen as a sign of weakness. However if a king must bow to another- that person must be the equivalent of someone greater than a king. To me you are this person."

"You came to aid us in our time of need and not only managed to do what I could not, but still worried for my brother and my men even after suffering personal injury. If you ever have need of my sword or my shield- All you have to do is but ask." The king said as he bowed to her and waited for her to respond.

Mya was hesitant to say anything. Kouen's decree- while nice in it's own round about manner- was completely unnecessary. However as he waited for her to respond, she knew that she couldn't just leave him hanging.

Reaching out with her free hand, she gently placed her hand on his shoulder and said, "Thank you, my friend." Causing Kouen to lift his head and look up at her just in time to see her smile at him before he re sheathed his sword and got back up to his feet as Sinbad was trying to herd the woman off of the ship along with his little bother.

Leaving him standing alone on the deck of his ship as he considered Mya's words to him. And smile tugging at his lips.

Friend. She had called him friend.

How strange. And yet so very appropriate.

 _Yes_ , he thought as he watched the trio reach the dock before Mya got fed up with Sinbad's antics and turned around and punched him in the stomach as she yelled at him, "Would you knock it off already!" Which only made him smile more. Yes, he doubted that he would mind overly much being Lady Mya's friend.


	71. Chapter 71

The palace was in an uproar by the time that Sinbad, Mya and Kouha reached it. The generals were standing out in the courtyard, the palace guards had all been gather out front, the ladies and gent's of the palace court as well as the servants had all been gather along with the wives and children of the generals who were married and with children.

All were standing just outside of the palace, behind the generals- each one waiting anxiously to see the face of their new Queen.

For Hinahoho's wife, Rurumu and their young children, Kikiriku, Kikirigi, Moka, Naom and Naomi this was a rare treat. Especially since their lady queen had been kidnapped almost a month ago before they even had a chance to meet her face to face. So naturally as her adopted family, the small group was looking rather forward to meeting their daughter/sister.

Hinahoho had over the course of the month seen fit to return to the palace periodically to check up on them and tell them of what was taking so long.

First telling of how he had accidentally injured Mya, and then of how she had fallen ill, and then of how upon waking from her illness her mind had been affected to the point where she had little to no memory of what time she had spent in close proximity to Sinbad and the rest of them.

Truly hearing such things had saddened Rurumu and the children.

After all, what family wished to hear of such sad and disheartening things happening to one of their own? And yet... Hina had sounded so _proud_ of their adopted daughter every time he spoke of her.

Especially when he had returned last night to check on them and had told them of Mya's wish to build several schools to teach anyone who wished to learn whatever they wanted. As well as build a school where people would be able to gather to learn medicine and the healing arts. He had even told them of her little 'tripping' incident to make them all laugh.

All in all her adopted daughter sounded like a fascinating and intelligent young woman. And Rurumu couldn't wait to meet her.

Fussing with her dress a bit to smooth out any wrinkles that may have formed, her hand was stilled when her husband reached out and grasped her hand in his and gave her a warm smile as Yamraiha called out excitedly from where she was hovering above them, "They're coming! They're coming! I can see them just a short ways from the gate!" And then very carefully landed and rushed to smooth out her skirt so that she would look more presentable before she moved to stand beside Sharrkan.

Everyone waited patiently for several minutes when they finally caught sight of Sinbad. Some kid with long reddish pink hair dressed in Kou's royal colors. And a pretty young woman with pale skin and long silvery blond hair wearing a soft pink dress with green and lavender flowering vines on it.

"My love, are you going to punch me every time that I do something to displease you?" Everyone could hear Sinbad's voice taking on a whining pitch to it as he walked beside the blond.

"No. Punching you every time you displease me would be childish. I'll only punch you if I think you deserve it."

"What?! But I didn't do anything!"

"Yes you did."

"No I didn't!" Sinbad practically shouted as the blond stopped walking just outside the gate of the palace and turned on her heel and walked back up to their king and stopped just outside of his reach and yelled back.

"Yes you did stupid! You copped a feel! In front of the kid no less! Just what the hell sort of example are you setting for him? A bad one, that's what. That alone is _why_ I punched you," The woman shouted back at him, causing Sinbad to all but trip over himself just in his attempt to escape her feminine anger.

Especially since he'd been on the receiving end of her anger before as she then shouted, "And don't you _ever_ cop a feel of my ass in public again or my punching you will be the least of your worries mister!"

At which everyone saw their king standing with his hands up, palms out in front of him in a placating gesture as he faced down the angry little female before him.

And once the woman was finished yelling at Sinbad, she then turned and returned to the boy's side and wrapped an arm around him and smiled prettily at him and began to talk to him in low, soft tones as the two of them walked through the gate with Sinbad trailing along behind them looking very much like a kicked puppy.

Rurumu looked over at her husband as he tried to smother a laugh behind one of his hands and failed miserably. That fierce little woman was her adopted daughter?

Sinbad's Queen?

 _Really?_ She wondered curiously as Sinbad finally rejoined the woman and the kid just in time to slip his arm around the woman's slender shoulder's and pull her up against his side as he muttered what appeared to be an apology which caused the woman to smile at him and lean her head on his shoulder a bit.

Although she had trouble really discerning the nature of their relationship. There _did_ seem to be something going on between the two of them.

"Interesting." Rurumu muttered to herself as everyone in the courtyard yelled out a greeting to Sinbad and his Queen.


	72. Chapter 72

The moment the roaring sound of voices died down, Mya looked up at her husband's amused expression before realizing that she had somehow managed to wind up in his arms much akin to how Scooby-Doo and Shaggy always wound up when scared by something before they wound up running to some place or another like the chickens that they were.

"What just happened? Were we ambushed?" She asked in a whispering tone, her eyes wide in her pale face as Sinbad fought back the laugh that was threatening to escape him so that he could answer her. Hopefully without earning anymore of her ire or embarrassing her possibly even more than she already was.

"That was everyone greeting us home, as is our custom here. When a king, queen or a noble returns after an extended period of time- everyone from the palace comes to greet him/her- regardless of status or station. It is a sign that that person is beloved and respected by his/her people... And Mya, you are my Queen. As such this is something that you'll have to become accustomed too whenever you leave and then return."

"O-Oh." Mya said softly as she turned her head to scan the crowd around her. She recognized the faces of some of the generals that she had met, but not everyone else's. "Well that sort of scared me." She said as she squirmed around in his grasp a little bit to indicate that she wished to be on her feet again.

However Sinbad seemed to have some ideas of his own and simply held her closer to his body and kissed her forehead and he tried not to laugh at her reaction to the greeting again.

Honestly he'd never seen anyone move so fast. And the way that she didn't so much as jump up in his arms as she had climbed... It had been adorable. A little bit painful sure, but adorable nevertheless.

Feeling the warmth of her skin under his lips, he worried that the formalities may be overtaxing what little strength she seemed to have possessed since their departure from Kouen's ship earlier that morning. But for the moment he decided to wait and see what happened as he pressed another kiss to her cheek in apology for the scare she had suffered before he carefully set her on her feet and then turned to address his people.

"Everyone, this is my wife Mya. Your Queen. We have already been informally wed and the formal wedding will be held here in three days time. I hope that I can count on each of you to help my Queen when she needs help and to guide her when she needs guidance. Those who will be my Queen's personal guard, step forward when your name is called. Masrur," Sinbad called out and Mya watched curiously as the red haired man stepped forward and then dropped to one knee before his King and Queen. "Hinahoho," The man looked up for a second before stepping forward and then doing the same thing as Masrur had. "Sharkkan," The platinum blond man stepped forward and mimicked the actions of his fellow generals. "And last but not least Prince Kouha, of the Kou empire." Kouha moved to where the other generals were and repeated the whole knee thing.

Once each of them were in place before Mya and her husband, Sinbad then turned to her and said. "My Queen these men wish to pledge their lives and loyalty to you. Do you accept?"

Unsure of what to do, Mya looked at them and then at Sinbad who leaned over and whispered to her to say yes. So she did. After which her husband asked, "And do you believe each of these men is not only strong enough to protect you, but honorable enough to stand by his oath to you."

Again she said yes.

"And you find no fault with any of them?" Now she got the impression that her husband was fishing for something. However since she didn't know what it was, she again said that she found no fault in any of them. Each of them were honorable men.

If the looks of adoration from the men kneeling before her weren't so uncomfortable for her, she might have noticed the adoring look on her husband's face before he then told each man to rise. And then wrapped his arm around her slender shoulders and pulled her up against his side as everyone broke formation to come and greet her personally.

The general's reintroduced themselves first, followed by their families. Wives, children, siblings exct. And it was during her introduction to the families that a tall woman with long blue hair akin to that of the giant, Hinahoho stepped forward and introduced herself and her and Hinahoho's children to Mya.

Mya smiled at the smaller kids as they grasped her skirt and hands and began calling her big sister. Curious to know why they were calling her that, Mya knelt down and asked one of them. To which another of the kids replied, "We call you sister because you _are_ our sister."

Quickly followed by another little one asking if she would play with them. Not wanting to disappoint the kids, she glanced over at Sinbad who merely watched her with great interest. Niether stopping her nor helping her at the moment as he reluctantly released her from his grasp so that she could do as she wished while everyone but the kids parents and the men appointed as Mya's bodyguards were standing within close proximity to her.

"Alright, looks like I'm free to play a game or two. What do you want to play?"

The kids all shared a look and grinned as they grabbed hold of her hands again and began to drag her away from prying eyes. After all, playing knight in shining armor, saving the princess wasn't any fun if there were witnesses about.

The game ended a grand total of ten minutes in once the brave knights 'slew' the fierce beast. However because it was their favorite game, each kid wound up switching roles with each other to allow their siblings the chance to save her at least once before the seemed to each tire of being the monster.

At which point she called Sinbad over to play with them and appointed him the 'damsel in distress' and made herself the monster of the next game. Much to everyone's shock and surprise, once the game started, it became pretty evident that Mya was more than adept at being a monster.

She growled and chased the kids around until she caught each of them. Leaving poor Sinbad to continue being the princess until he was finally saved an hour later by Masrur.


	73. Chapter 73

It was several hours later, just shortly after lunch when Mya began to look too tired to continue socializing. At which point Sinbad had gotten up out of his seat and carefully collected his wife in his arms and with a soft, yet polite word. Excused himself to put her down for a much needed nap since he didn't want her current condition to become even more exacerbated than it already was.

Carrying his wife in his arms as he walked down the halls of his palace, he absently noted that Mya was eerily silent for once. And figured that her weariness had finally caught up with her. God knew that the poor woman had been fighting it off for a while now in lieu of greeting everyone and making an attempt to learn and do what she could while she still had the time too.

Reaching Mya's rooms, he hesitated to simply place her within the room and leave her. Especially when she was still a bit ill. After all, just about anything could happen.

What if she got worse sometime during the evening and no one was there to help her when she needed it? Or what if she became delirious and decided to try walking around and wound up walking herself right off the balcony attached to the side of her rooms where the windows were located?

What if she tripped and fell into the bath and hit her head and drowned?

He wasn't being paranoid, truly he wasn't. He just really cared too much about the woman to allow such things to happen to her if he could prevent it.

Which was why after a moment or so of debate, Sinbad decided to take her to his rooms instead since she would be able to rest just as much there as she would in her own. Not only that but he'd be in the room somewhere doing paperwork, which would allow her to rest and him to watch her for any signs of delirium or distress as she slept.

Entering his rooms, Sinbad made quick work of placing his wife on his bed and drawing the covers up over her body and was starting to step back away from the bed when Mya's hand snagged his wrist. Stopping him in his tracks as he turned his head to look down at her and see what she wanted.

She looked as if she were barely on the verge of wakefulness. Her eyes barely opened slits in her pretty face as she asked him if he would stay with her for a while. Just until she fell asleep.

Sinbad agreed and dropped down to the floor next to the bed and made himself comfortable so that he could keep her company up until she fell asleep.

Not even ten minutes later, Mya was sound asleep as Sinbad leaned over her and kissed her cheek and then slowly got to his feet so that he could move to the desk across the room as Ja-far entered the room carrying an armful of scrolls.

He paused for a moment as he placed everything down on Sin's desk as he cast Mya a worried glance and asked softly, "Is she alright?"

"Yes. Just tired. I think all the excitement today has worn her out." Sinbad said as he glanced across the room at Mya's sleeping form.

"Her fever hasn't totally broken yet?" Ja-far asked, his tone colored with concern as Sinbad slowly shook his head before saying.

"No. But at the same time it hasn't risen any higher than it is at present. I asked Mya if such an occurrence was normal for her the other day and she said that it was known to happen from time to time. And usually lasted between a week to two or three weeks. Depending on the underlying cause. Apparently she's convinced that she may have picked up a less severe illness from the one that she suffered from before and now we are simply attempting to wait it out."

"I see. But it will go away right?"

Sinbad nodded his head. "Yes. As long as it holds as it currently is- it will inevitably burn itself out. Mya told me that and since she would know much more about such instances than I, then all I can do is trust her judgment."

"What will you do about the wedding if she's still ill?"

"We will carry on. I have spoken with her about it at length and she has come up with a plan of sorts that will allow the weeding to occur without interruption and allow her to meet with the members of the court as well as the Seven Sea's Alliance before we retreat to her chambers. Having everyone else plan out the wedding for her will be taking much of the stress and strain from her. So I'm happy about that at least. She _did_ however ask a few things of me as far as our wedding is concerned."

"Oh? Like what?"

Sinbad grinned happily at his friend.

"She wishes to pick out her own dress and jewelry for the occasion. She also expressed an opinion on what flowers she would like, as well as a few other small things. But what pleases me is that before the wedding, she wants to sit with me and brush my hair. It's not normally a custom for a woman to do so, but I've been uncertain what to do with my hair for the weeding. I want to look nice..." Sinbad said that last part with a slight blush that had Ja-far blinking at him before a slow smile tugged at the corners of his lips.

"Then I'm sure that having my lady attend to you for a while to help you, would be fine."

Sinbad nodded his head absently before stating, "You do know that I won't be bedding her until later on, right."

"Oh thank god!" Ja-far muttered in relief, much to Sinbad's surprise. "I know that you wouldn't as long as she is ill-" He stopped speaking as Sin slowly shook his head before saying clearly.

"I will not bed my wife until I have properly courted her for a length of time."

"Oh. Oh well that would be...appropriate, I guess. Now if we're done talking about the wedding, I have some information that I've been meaning to talk to you about for a while now but wasn't sure what to say or when would be the best time to broach the subject. But I learned something about my lady's past around the time that her shoulder was injured and she first became aware of your marriage that- well, _disturbed_ me."

Sinbad cocked his head to the side a bit as he stared at his friend, curiosity shining in the honey golden depths of his eyes. "What is it?" Sinbad asked with a little bit of trepidation coloring his tone as Ja-far began to fidget with his robe sleeve as he began to speak.

A short time later, Sinbad was staring up at his friend in utter horror. His normally healthy complexion had taken on a sickly green color as he looked away from Ja-far to glance over at his still resting wife.

"W-When did you say this happened?" Sinbad asked when he finally managed to find his voice.

"About a week after she lost her parents and siblings."

"When she was still a girl?"

"Yes."

"What other details did you get from the conversation?"

"Just that she didn't really recall much. She had been drugged and for the most part wasn't conscious enough to feel anything until she awoke."

"Anything else?" Sinbad asked, his voice and expression suddenly going from shocked to steely with anger as he glared at Ja-far. Who simply shook his head no in response to his question as Sinbad slowly got up out of his seat and moved around his desk to stand in front of Ja-far. At which going the blond knew he was in some sort of trouble because the man looked more pissed than he had ever seen him.

"Tell me something Ja-far, is there any particular reason why you would wait until now to tell me something like this?"

"You mean aside from the fact that I wasn't sure how _relevant_ it was to your relationship to my lady..." Ja-far said as he took a slight step back away from his king.

"And just what part of the fact that my Queen had been raped at some point in her life did you not find relevant?" Sinbad asked as he advanced on Ja-far.

"I first needed to see how she interacted with you to learn if the crime committed against her held any sway over how she interacted with you in a romantic way!"

"And?"

"Well you have to admit, she is a little bit awkward with you. Romantically at least. But for the most part I just think that has to do with the fact that aside from what happened to her she has very little experience with men. She gets nervous. Anxious. Tends to over think things-"

"Did I hurt her Ja-far?" Sinbad cut him off by asking. The question in itself seemed totally innocent if one thought about it at first. But knowing Sinbad as he did, Ja-far was able to read between the lines of Sinbad's question and see what he wanted to know easily enough.

He wanted to know if his marriage to Mya had somehow cause a parallel to be drawn between her experience with the rape and her marriage and to be honest, Ja-far had to say yes. To some extent a parallel had been drawn. But that possibly had more to do with the fact that Sinbad had married her without her knowing it and hadn't given her a choice.

She had been angry about her lack of choice in her marriage, understandably so. But she had been attempting to get past her anger when she had fallen ill and lost her memory.

Still Sinbad needed to hear him out so that he didn't wind up feeling guilty over something he hadn't known since day one.

The fact that he hadn't known wasn't his fault. The fact that he knew now, before he bedded his wife should- hopefully make things easier on them both. Especially if Sinbad was going to court the woman as he had said.

"Ja-far! _Did. I. Hurt. My. Wife_?"

"A parallel may have been drawn between the experience and your marriage, yes." The blond said honestly and watched as Sin flinched as if he had just been slapped. "However, as mad as she was at the time Sin- she was attempting to get over it. So even though a parallel may have been drawn, I do not think that it is still there. I think it was left behind when she lost her memory. I merely wished you to know what had happened before you made any attempts to bed her later on."

"Yes, because nothing is more of a turn off than a screaming and crying woman." Sinbad said in a tone laced with disgust as he glared at his friend.

"That isn't what I mean."

"I know."

"Are you going to confront her about it?" Ja-far asked worriedly. Sin gave him an unreadable look as he turned his back on him and moved back to his desk and sat down again.

"No. There's no point in confronting her about something like that. It's over and done with. I just want a new start with her. Nothing more."

Ja-far could understand that. After all, new starts were rare and often yielded opportunities to do new, interesting and extraordinary things.


	74. Chapter 74

Sinbad read and reread the same document repeatedly, trying to take his mind off of his earlier talk with Ja-far about his beloved's past and how she probably at some point had drawn a parallel between the horrible experience and her marriage to him, and after re reading the same document for what seemed like the hundredth time, finally threw it down in disgust and looked over at Mya.

He wished he knew what she thought of him when she was awake.

Perhaps if he knew what she thought of him he wouldn't feel so- so out of depth and anxious. He kept feeling as if he was constantly making the wrong move when it came to her. He loved her- he knew that with the utmost certainty. However he continued to feel like he was robbing her of something he couldn't quite put his finger on.

And the feeling made him feel like shit.

Truly it did.

And while he wished to ask her about what had happened to her, as he had stated earlier when he was speaking with Ja-far. Doing so was useless. Her past was exactly that, the past. And there was no point in dredging it up now.

However if he had known that much sooner perhaps he wouldn't have been so difficult when it came to her. He had merely thought that their argument about being unhappy to find herself married was her peculiar way of being willful. Or trying to hurt his feelings. It had never occurred to him that the reason may have been something else entirely.

But if he had known...

Aside from attempting to find a way to go to her country so that he could hit the streets and hunt the son of a bitch down and kill him- he would have treated her different. He would have been far more careful in his dealings with her.

As it was, before she had lost her memory, there was no telling just how much _damage_ he had inadvertently inflicted on her.

 _And I thought that I hated myself the other night when she cried..._ Sinbad thought to himself as he got up out of his chair and walked over to the bed and quietly sat on the edge of it and brushed some of her hair back from her face.

Absently noting that not only did her skin feel cooler to the touch, but she was slowly gaining some color back in her cheeks. And smiled faintly. It would seem that his love had been correct about her current fever.

Just a few more days and then it would be gone and she would be on the mend.

Then he would have to watch her carefully to make sure that her health didn't begin to fail her again so soon after their wedding by making sure that she ate and slept off and on as needed until she was completely better.

It might take a few weeks or even a few months, but thankfully he was up to the task of taking care of her.

Leaning over her, he brushed a tender kiss across her cheek, causing her to twitch slightly and rolled over onto her back with a soft murmmer and then slowly stood and began walking towards the door to his room. He had much to make up to Mya for.

And he couldn't really think of a better time to start than right now.

Slipping out of his room, he found Mya's personal guard standing just outside of his room and told Hinahoho to please see that she was woken in an hour's time. Then told Sharrkan to set up the table on his balcony with some candles, and to fetch some food and enough drink for two people once she was finally up and moving around. Then turned to Masrur and told him to follow him.

They had an errand to run before his Queen awoke.

The fanalis nodded his head, though he was a mite confused about Sinbad's behavior. And yet he didn't bother to argue since arguing rarely did anyone any good with the man.

Following Sin outside of the palace, the first place his king went by was the royal gardens where he spent several minutes just looking from one flower to another before finding some of the white peonies that he had planted as well as some wisteria vines. And then took several minutes to cut the stems and begin to carefully arrange them in his hands until he had them exactly the way he wanted. But then wondered how he was to keep them that way before figuring that he could use the leather tie binding his hair.

Tugging the strip of leather from it's usual place at his nape so that he could wind it around the flower's stems and then tied it carefully in place around the small bundle and then looked around to see if he could find any pink flowers to add to the arrangement.

"What...are you doing?" Masrur asked curiously.

He had never seen Sin do anything like this before so either his king was incredibly drunk (a distinct possibility knowing him). Or his king was just simply in a _floral_ mood today.

"I wish to continue my courtship with Mya. And I happen to know for a fact that she likes many of these flowers. She finds the sight and scent of them pleasing. Now if only I could find some white or pink lilies to go with the rest of the flowers then I could go back and help set things up for dinner."

Sighing since he now knew why he had been brought along, Masrur took a moment to scan the garden before saying, "Over there is some jasmine. And to your far left are some pink lilies."

"Really?" Sin asked as he looked around again before spotting the flowers and then shooting Masrur his typical, _You're senses can be annoying,_ look before he then nodded his head and muttered his thanks and went to gather some of each and then added them to the bouquet.

Once he finished collecting and arranging the flowers and tying them together with his hair tie, he then turned around to find Masrur still standing there looking a little bit uncertain as to what to do.

Rolling his eyes he sighed at the man's antics and then said, "I'm done now, lets go back." Unless he missed his guess he had been in the garden for the better part of forty five minutes or so arranging the flowers that he had collected to make them look more presentable. And in another few minutes Hina would be waking Mya as per his instructions. So he needed to get back and bathe and get ready for dinner since it just may prove to be interesting.


	75. Chapter 75

By the time Sinbad returned from cleaning himself up and making himself presentable for his dinner with his wife and returned to his quarters, Mya was already up and seated at the table awaiting him. Smiling to himself, he quickly told the generals and Kouha to retire for the night.

He was fairly certain that he could take things from here.

Once everyone was gone, Sinbad went to join Mya on the balcony where Sharrkan had set up the table for their dinner. Sweeping aside one of the silk curtains that hung over the door way, Sin stepped through and froze for a moment at the sight of his wife.

She was humming softly to herself as she stared out at their kingdom's torch lite glow, a small secret smile curving her lips.

Mentally shaking himself, he moved forward and stealthily sipped up behind his wife and leaned in over her just enough to lay the bouquet of flowers across her lap as he kissed her cheek. Startling her slightly if the fact that she jumped was any indication at all as she twisted around to see who he was before he could pull back from kissing her, and wound up brushing his lips against her own.

Mya let out a small gasp, that had him grinning as he felt something akin to an electric shock run down his spine.

"Sinbad."

"Hello my love. You seemed as if you were having fun without me." He said as he straightened his spine until he towered over her. Which really wasn't that hard to do since she was such a small little thing.

He watched with keen interest as she blushed prettily and fidgeted a little bit with her fingers.

"I-I was j-just watching the city." She stammered out awkwardly making his heart do a strange flip flopping motion in his chest as he asked,

"And what do you think of what you see?"

"I think the city looks like stars fallen to the earth." Her statement was blunt and more than just a little bit surprising to him. _The city looks like fallen stars?_ He thought curiously as he looked out over his home as he asked.

"But wouldn't stars falling to earth leave nothing but devastation behind?"

"I wasn't talking about the physical body of the stars, though yeah, they would leave a lot of destruction behind if they ever fell on a land like this one. But that wasn't what I was referring to. First look up at the sky." Sin did as his wife instructed and was shocked to find no stars twinkling or glittering overhead despite the late hour and the darkness of the sky. "It's an absolute pitch black. Something that is a rarity. Especially on nights like this. However they are still up there, you just can't see them- they are so far away. Now look at the city again. See the lights glittering and winking in the distance?"

He did.

"Even though you can't see the stars, those lights almost seem as if the stars have shared a piece of themselves with us. Don't you think?"

It was a very whimsical thought, Sinbad supposed. But if it made Mya happy to believe it then who was he to judge. The last time he'd had a whimsical thought, he'd wound up traipsing the countryside dressed as a woman with his generals. He'd had fun to an extent. But the others had bitched endlessly.

Especially Ja-far and Sharrkan whom had both received a staggering number of marriage proposals.

While he had been lost in thought, Mya had finally noticed the flowers that he had brought for her and was lightly stroking one velvety petal attached to a sweetly scented flower before she gently, and carefully laid them aside so that neither the flowers nor the blooms and blossoms suffered any breaks or bruising and slowly got up out of her chair so that she could thank her husband.

But the blasted man turned around at the last minute and she wound up practically diving back into her seat and masking her expression so that he'd not think she had been up to something. However Sinbad had more or less _seen_ her dive back into her seat and knew that she had been about to do something.

And though he was curious about what she had been about to do, he said nothing. Merely pulled out his seat and sat down so that they could begin their meal since he hadn't eaten since lunch and he was sure that Mya was probably more than a little hungry by now.

"I meant to ask you before how you are feeling?" Sinbad said as he fixed his plate and then cast Mya a concerned look. Understanding what he meant Mya smiled at him, but didn't outright reply. It had slipped her mind to tell him when he had come to join her that her fever had finally broke.

All that was left now was to eat some good food and get as much sleep as possible. In the mean time, she'd let him squirm a bit.

"I'm okay." She finally said as she tried to sort through the different dishes before her and tried to fix her plate as she said, "I love the flowers by the way. They're beautiful."

Sinbad paused in mid motion as this goofy little grin curved his lips. "Really?"

"Yes. Very much so."

"I'm glad. I wanted to bring you a bouquet of your favorites, but I'm afraid that my garden doesn't have all of them."

"Then that's something that we'll have to fix, isn't it."

He nodded his head, "I suppose so."

All though out their dinner together, the two talked and told stories to each other about their childhoods. Sinbad for the most part knew about Mya's childhood, the tragic deaths of her parents and siblings, and of how her grandfather raised her- but beyond that he knew little else.

Whereas Mya knew next to nothing about his childhood. So he set about remedying that fact by telling her stories about his father and mother and some of the things that they had done together up until his father was taken away by some of the Parthevia Empire's soldiers and later killed.

Shortly after which his mother became very ill and he had to take care of her for a majority of his young years all the way up until before he captured his first dungeon and returned just in time to say goodbye to her before she died.

His stories from that point on were tinged with a great deal of sadness and loneliness.

Something that she doubted any of his friends and comrades had ever realized. Much less noticed.

Sinbad spoke of everything that he could possibly think of. Everything from meeting his generals, and making new friends and seeing exotic lands all while capturing dungeons and establishing his job as a tradesman. The time he went to the coliseum an fought as a gladiator and wound up a slave for human traffickers exct...

By the time he had finished, he had even spoken of the war that had come to his kingdoms doorsteps and of the many, many friends and allies that he had lost.

One of whom had been the woman he had intended to marry at the time.

Mya regarded his serious expression, and the far away look in his eyes and decided that she didn't like it. The seriousness of his expression at the moment reminded her of the seriousness of the plague. She hated it.

Her husband should always be the strange goofy man that puzzled her. Not this humorless stranger that wouldn't even look at her. Getting up from her seat, she walked over to Sinbad and grabbed his face in her hands and made him look at her.

The distant and haunted look in his eyes was like a knife to her heart.

It hurt to see him like this. Truly it did.

"Sinbad... It's okay." She said as she slowly slipped her arms around his neck and hugged him as she repeated the words over and over again until her voice began to give out before Sinbad finally reacted and very gently pried her arms from around him and made her step back.

Reaching up, he cupped one of her cheeks in his hand and gave her a somewhat small smile. "It's usually the man who comforts the woman, not the other way around. But I thank you nevertheless my love."

Their dinner together ended shortly after that with either of them barely touching any of the food that had been on their plates.

And though their dinner together was over and done, both lay awake that night knowing that it was an event that would always stick with them.


	76. Chapter 76

Mya waited until the sun began to filter through her bedroom window before she even bothered to sit up on her bed and shift herself to sit on the edge. Resting her elbows on her knees, she laced her fingers together and rested her chin on top of her hands, her long silver blond hair slipping over her shoulders and into her eyes as she did.

 _Sinbad..._

Her husband's words from the previous night had kept her awake enough to imagine and relive each and every horror he had ever experienced before becoming the king of his own country.

Eyes burning from lack of sleep, her heart aching for her husband and what he and his had suffered, Mya made a decision- to see to it that Sinbad and his friends _never_ got hurt like that again. It was a tall order, sure. And certainly would cause issues between them later on down the line. Especially when he found out what she was up too.

And yeah- she was going to wind up bloodying her hands somewhere down the line. But she didn't really mind. After all, weren't they bloody enough already? What was a bit more?

It wasn't like she was squeamish or anything.

 _I'll have to retrain myself in the most proficient forms of combat and look into some things._ She thought as she made a mental list of everything that she would need to do.

One of which was ditch the dresses in favor of some less constraining clothing.

And she already knew just who to see.

The giant's wife Rurumu. She would find a way to sketch out her clothing design and see if the woman could help her find someone who could make them.

The outfit itself would have to be light weight but incredibly durable. She planned to have something along the lines of steel plates sewn into the top of her clothing to act as a shield. Whereas the pants would be simple leather.

And she would have to begin accumulating various poisons and weapons that were easy to conceal as well.

With everything firmly in mind, she then stood and walked to her bathroom and noted the shower and the large jacuzzi like pool along with the various bottles of liquid soaps, shampoo's, conditioner's, oils, bath salts and sweetly scented lotions.

Deciding to bathe so that she could completely wake herself up, she quickly left the room for several minutes to search out some new clothing. Then once she found something that she deemed acceptable she returned to the bathroom and quickly undressed and slipped into the shower and took a moment to figure out how to work the damn thing since it didn't look like the one that she was used too before finally managing to get some warm water to bathe with.

Standing under the spray she made quick work of washing herself with something that she could only assume was shampoo. Until she was out of the shower and drying herself off and found that whatever it was that she had used to wash her hair had some sort of chemical in it that had partially dyed her hair an peculiar- yet not entirely unfetching color of silvery blond with tints of pink-ish red.

Blinking down at the strand of hair that fell over her breast she let out a barely audible perturbed sound. And then sighed.

She wasn't normally a vain person since it was somewhat pointless to be so. However she had always taken pride in the unique coloring of her hair since it was something that she had inherited from her late, late, late grandmother. And even now- she still took pride in it.

Even if it was a blasted pinkish, red, silvery blond.

 _How the hell am I supposed to explain this to Sinbad if he asks about it?_ She wondered as she grabbed her clothing and made quick work of dressing and then grabbing a comb and brushing her long mane until it was totally free of tangles.

Finally after she was finished doing what she needed to do, she left her room to go walking until a little later since she didn't know what time everyone in the palace rose. That and it would give her a chance to walk around and explore unhindered by her...guards.

She walked around for the better part of half an hour before she finally paused where she was to look around as a low sound of irritation escaped her throat.

Dammit! Why, oh why did the flipping palace have to be so big that a person could get lost in? _Literally_. She just didn't understand what was wrong with more modest accommodations.

Already irked due to the hair dye incident earlier, Mya's temper was slowly, but surely simmering. She'd probably be seething with untapped rage long before anyone found her. And since that was the case, she hoped someone figured out that she was missing soon otherwise she just might attempt to tunnel her way out of the place through the walls. Or worse...set the place on fire so that she could send up a smoke signal.

And wouldn't her husband be upset about that. She thought with a slight snort as she crossed her arms over her chest and dropped down to the floor to sit indian style while she waited.

(**************************************************************************************************************************)

Sinbad was in the middle of his morning routine in an effort to make himself presentable for the day as he mulled over what he had told Mya the night before.

He knew that she needed to know certain things about his life in order to bond with him and get to know him a bit better. But what in the world had possessed him to speak of the war that had destroyed Sindria before it had become the thriving country that it was today?

Seriously. Nothing was more of a turn off to people than a man who cried like a small child while reliving the horrors of death and destruction.

He was honestly dreading seeing Mya today.

He worried of what she must think of him now after his break. Would she think him weak? Pitiful? Pathetic? He certainly did. He thought himself all of those things and more but that didn't mean that he wished for his wife to see him as such.

Picking up his razor, he was about to shave himself and had just placed the blade against his neck when the doors to his room was thrown open and Hina came rushing in yelling something.

Startled by the sudden appearance and shouting, Sinbad accidentally jerked his hand and blanched as he felt blood run down his neck from the cut he'd just made before Hina came into the bathroom and paused for a moment in the doorway, his already pale complexion going ashen as he spied his king with his hand against his throat, looking slightly irked/pained as he dripped blood all over the place before the man reached out and seized him and tossed him over his shoulder in a most uncomfortable position and ran screaming and shouting from the room with him.


	77. Chapter 77

"Honestly Sin, what the hell were you doing earlier?" Ja-far groused as he took his time to carefully clean the drying blood from his kings neck so that he could check the actual wound itself. It was a little bit on the deep side. But not deep enough to hit a vein, thank god.

Though from the way Hina had acted upon carrying Sinbad into his bedroom and then kicked him out of bed so that he could attend the man- one would think that he had managed to cut his own head off or something.

Sinbad held his tongue until after Ja-far was done bandaging his neck wound before muttering in a slightly growling/mocking tone, "Not trying to slit my own throat. _That_ happened on accident because I was startled by that giant mess over there." He waved his arm at Hinahoho to indicate the man as Ja-far turned his head to glare at him. Now knowing exactly who was to blame for Sin's almost loss of life.

Making a mental note to chew the man out later, Ja-far then turned back to his king and asked. "And what was so important that he just had to startle you?"

"Dunno. All I heard was hysterical yelling and the next thing I knew I was bleeding all over my damn floor." Sinbad said in an irked tone as he glanced over at his general expectantly. Causing the man to all but shout in his face.

"Queen Mya is missing!"

Ja-far blinked. Sinbad blinked and let out a low sound of irritation as he wondered if his dear wife had up and left the palace at some point because of his stupidity in speaking about the war the previous evening. And if that was indeed the case, he'd leave her be for the time being and hoped that she returned.

And if not...he'd hunt her down like a dog.

After all just because he already felt like shit didn't mean that the woman have his leave to make him feel even worse. As it was he was already having a crappy morning because of her.

It was sometime around then that Masrur spoke up from over by the window. "She isn't missing. She's still in the palace. I can smell her."

This of course surprised Sinbad and the others as they tried to figure out the reason why she may have up and vanished. Sinbad had initially thought that his wife would have difficulty facing him after last night. He knew that he was certainly having trouble trying to figure out how to face her.

However upon thinking on things a little more, Sinbad was well aware that his wife- while a little insensitive, wasn't the type of woman to actually inflict physical, mental, or emotional pain on another. At least not without them doing so to her or hers first.

She _was_ much like him. A sort of a tit-for-tat person.

So whatever she was doing in the palace, away from her guards had to do with something personal. Perhaps she simply had felt the need to go for a walk and explore since she hadn't had a chance too just yet.

"Where in the palace is she?" He asked, Masrur as the man tipped his head back a little bit on his neck and sniffed the air before muttering.

"Dunno exactly, but it is a ways away from her chambers," Sinbad opened his mouth to say something else when the man made a slightly amused sound before saying, "Silly woman. She really wasn't kidding when she told me that she was directionally challenged." After which the man moved away from the window and said, "I'll go and fetch her. Do you wish me to bring her here?"

"Ah, no. I'm afraid that I'll be busy today. So just find her and escort her to wherever she wishes to go so that she doesn't get lost again." Sinbad said as the man stared at him for a moment before asking,

"Don't you want her to know that you got hurt?"

"No. The wound is nothing life threatening so it doesn't matter."

"As you wish." Masrur said as he slipped out of Ja-far's room and began the task of tracking down his queen. Which wasn't all that hard considering her unique scent was concentrated in one area of the palace.

(***************************************************************************************************************************************)

Mya was mentally going over a list of everything- including personnel that would make things easier- while counting to a million. So far she had only gotten to seven thousand, two hundred and seventy three when she heard footsteps coming from behind her and turned to see who it was when Masrur came into sight and paused for a moment when he caught sight of her.

Sighing, the man shook his head as he started moving again and slowly ambled his way over to her side and then looked down at her and blinked at her hair.

Ah, Sin was going to _love_ that little alteration right there.

Though the weird blend of colors didn't look bad on his lady. If anything they made her sort of stand out more. _It'll_ _definitely be easier to spot her from a distance from now on._ He thought to himself as he reached out and took a strand of her hair and found himself asking in a slightly perturbed tone, "What on earth happened?"

Mya made a little growling sound before saying, "There was something weird in one of my shampoo's and it did this."

"So...decided that you wanted to go exploring this morning?" He asked curiously.

"I did." Mya said as she nodded her head.

"And you got lost."

Mya nodded her head this time as she replied, "Yes. Yes, I did."

"Want out of this place?"

"God yes." Mya said looking as if she were mere seconds away from crying out of embarrassment. Masrur rolled his eyes at her and gently took her hand in his and begun walking back the way that he had come.


	78. Chapter 78

"So... What were you doing wandering the halls alone?" Masrur asked when they finally reached her chamber again. Mya tilted her head up at him and blushed a little bit as she answered.

"Well. On top of sort of wanting to explore a little bit to kill some time until breakfast- I also kind of wanted to see Rurumu about some... _things_."

"Things?"

"Yes, things. And stop looking at me like that. I'm not going to talk about them with you." Mya said as she reached out and poked him in the ribs with her finger causing him to narrow his red eyes as he growled down at her before he reached over and grabbed her hand in an effort to prevent her from poking him in the ribs again since it was one of the absolute few places on his body that was _actually_ ticklish.

And he didn't want to accidentally hurt her while trying to escape her poking finger.

He made a humming sound, as he slowly released her hand from his grasp an then crossed his arms over his chest as he considered her. From the way that his Queen was acting, she had a secret that she didn't care to share with him. Which was fairly interesting since secrets never lasted long within the palace walls.

Either he sniffed them out. Or Sinbad or one of the others did.

Then again, the fact that she didn't wish to speak of whatever it was meant that it required a great deal of privacy. Perhaps even delicacy.

Was it maybe a female thing? Her monthly cycle?

Shaking his head at that last thought he leaned over her a tiny bit and took a subtle whiff of her scent just to double check and became oddly curious when he smelled nothing to indicate her monthly cycle had come to visit. So then what exactly was it that she wished to keep from him?

"Do you wish to speak to Sin about your...secret?" He asked after a few moments.

Mya began to look a tad bit nervous as she shook her head and started rambling, "What? _No_. It's nothing and besides I can take care of it on my own. I just wanted some advice from Rurumu. So there's no need to bother him. Besides he's got his hands full with our wedding in two days. I'm sure that he's going to be working on greeting allies of your country and old friends and foreign dignitaries, so I'll just talk to Rurumu once I've got the chance too."

Masrur gave her a funny look that was akin to her grandfather's _I-call-bullshit_ look. The one that he had usually given her when he knew that she was lying about something. However despite the look he was giving her, the man otherwise remained silent after exhaling a reluctant sigh and muttering a soft, "Very well."

Deciding that it may be in his best interest to allow her her privacy for the moment since he could always follow her and eavesdrop on her when she went to speak with Hina's wife- if of course he felt it necessary. Which at the moment it was looking more and more like it would be.

"Is there anywhere else you wanted to go?"

"Oh, um... I sort of need to grab something for breakfast. And I'm sure that you probably need to as well considering how late it is. After that, I sort of wanted to explore a little more and see what's what. I also need to go- uh, somewhere and check on the wedding plans and stuff."

Nodding his head, Masrur reached out and placed his hands on his lady's shoulders and very carefully turned her around and gave her a slight nudge in the direction that he'd just turned her. Casting a curious look at him over one of her shoulders, he could tell that she was confused about his actions when he decided to simply say, "The kitchen is that way."

"Oh. Alright then," She said as she took a step forward before pausing to look back at him and asked, "You coming?"

He nodded his head. "I'm going to be right behind you." He sort of needed to see just how directionally challenged she was so that he and the other general's could plan accordingly. Just in case she ever became lost within the palace again.

Mya started walking, and he fell into step behind her. His mind mulling over various details concerning his Queen that he would have to see too sooner or later. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he never noticed that the blasted woman had gotten lost again until he blinked and suddenly found that they were both outside.

"What the-" He started to say in surprise before stopping himself and shooting his lady a funny look as she blushed with embarrassment and began to fidget with her shirt.

"Um... I think I took the wrong hall."

"That's an understatement since the kitchen is back that way." He muttered incredulously as he looked over at her again and wondered, _How on earth has she managed_ _to survive all this time on her own?_ Seriously. He had never seen anyone get lost as easily as she could before.

Mya stared right back at him, still slightly flushed with embarrassment as she asked in a defensive tone, _"What?"_

He shook his head and turned himself so that he was facing away from her and face palmed. _Good grief_. He and the other general's would have to work extra hard just to keep her from getting lost all the time.

Maybe Sin wouldn't mind if they broke out some paint and started painting little arrows on the walls in various parts of the palace. It would after all help his lady out in the long run, and it would cut back on the time everyone spent worrying about her when she went missing.

Sighing, he reached out and grasped her upper arm in one hand and began to drag her back inside. "Come on. Kitchen is back this way. We'll get something nice to eat and then I'll take you where you want to go."


	79. Chapter 79

Shortly after Masrur went off in search of his Queen, Sinbad had to finish shaving (this time _with_ parental supervision) to make sure that he didn't accidentally slit his throat again. But after it had happened the first time, Sinbad assured Ja-far, _repeatedly_ that he was in no hurry to do it again.

He claimed that it hurt. Not just his neck, but also his ears thanks entirely to Hinahoho's shouting. So that he could finish dressing for the day so that he could go to the docks and greet his allies from the Seven Sea's Alliance.

And once he was done with that, he could be sure to see if someone could track down Masrur and his wife so that they could join the rest of them for the celebratory dinner that he had planned for himself, Mya and his old friends. That way he could introduce his wife to everyone in the hopes that they would distract and exhaust her so that he could keep avoiding her for just a little bit longer.

At least until the events from last night's dinner was the furthest thing from the both of their minds.

After letting Ja-far check his bandages to make sure that his neck wound was still clean, Sinbad picked up his ceremonial dagger and sword and took a moment to attach them to his belt before leaving his room with Ja-far trailing along behind him.

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The moment that Masrur managed to finally get himself and his lady to the kitchen to get something to eat, the man sank down into the nearest seat as his Queen brushed past him to go see what had been fixed. Since the normal breakfast in the palace usually consisted of gruel- he saw Mya shake her head at the meager offering before turning to him and asking if he would like for her to cook him something.

Perking up a little bit at the prospect of eating some more of his Queen's cooking, Masrur shamelessly agreed and let his lady get to work and a short time later was eating a rather nice meal of cut up and carefully seasoned chicken and vegetables with a side of rice and cooked potato's.

As per her usual habit when cooking, Mya made sure to fix enough for a small army Masrur noted with a wry grin as he finished polishing off his food before asking for seconds. Mya took his plate and refilled it for him and then set it back down in front of him and brushed past him again to return to her task of cooking.

Apparently what she had fixed for him wasn't enough even though he was sure that he couldn't have eaten it all even if he had tried. And he did try. Like really, _really_ hard. But alas after four plates full of wonderfully made food, the man sat back patting his full stomach just in time for the rest of his lady's personal guard to find them.

"Lady Mya!" Kouha all but shouted as he ran into the room with Sharkkan and Hinahoho not too far behind him as he ran straight to the woman, and threw himself into her arms at the same exact moment Masrur managed to reach out and pluck the knife she'd been holding from her hand just in time to save the young prince from possibly fatal injury.

" _Oh!_ Hello Kouha, what are you doing?" Mya said in greeting as she wrapped her arms around the boy as Hina walked up and leaned down and put a hand on the top of her head and growled out close to her ear,

"Where. Have. You. Been?" Causing Mya to jump a little and tighten her grasp on Kouha at the same time.

"She spent the better part of the morning lost in the south hallway." Masrur replied for her since she appeared too scared to bother.

Hina straightened his spine and slowly turned his head to look at Masrur as he considered his words for a moment before turning his head back to his Queen/adopted daughter and asking, "Is that true?"

Mya nodded her head as the giant gently ran his fingers through her hair before seeming to realize that the once silvery blond were now a reddish-pink, silvery blond mix. "What the hell happened to your hair?" The giant asked in an aghast tone as he removed his hand from the top of her head so that he could grasp a few of the strands hanging down her back and tug on them rudely.

Mya yelped, and slapped his hand sharply which seemed to snap him out of his funk long enough to stop what he was doing so that she could turn around and face him, more or less dragging Kouha with her as she did so. "I had a little mishap with some weird chemical in my shampoo this morning." She said as she wrinkled her nose a bit as she released Kouha and moved to go back to her cooking.

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Sinbad stood before his old friends from the Seven Sea's Alliance politely greeting each one with a hand shake and a friendly hug as he quickly told them how happy he was that they were there and just why he had summoned them. Naturally each of them were shocked, yet pleased that he had finally decided to settle down and take a wife.

After all each of them was of the mind that if he became a husband and father, he would be less inclined to get himself into mischief later on in life.

Sinbad had of course known that that was what they would think. But he wasn't insulted or discouraged by that fact. After all, he had hidden the fact that many of his old friends had been pushing him to marry and settle down since long _before_ he had become a king.

Of course each of them had wanted him to marry a noble from their country to establish stronger political ties with the kingdom of Sindria.

And naturally being the contrary creature that he was, Sinbad hadn't done so despite knowing the benefits that he and his kingdom would gain. Instead he had chosen to marry for love. Something that a few of his friends could understand and forgive easily enough.

Whereas others would view his marriage to Mya as a deliberate insult to them and might try to drive a wedge between them. Which was sort of why Sinbad had given Mya so many personal guards.

Finally after greeting everyone, one of his friends asked when they would get to meet the lucky woman. To which Sinbad replied, soon enough as he turned and began walking- not really needing to say anything more before his friends each fell into step behind him.

Each easily chatting excitedly about what would occur over the course of the next few days.


	80. Chapter 80

**Yo kitten's.**

 **I had a crappy six year wedding anniversary and haven't been feeling terribly inspired by anything but murderous rage. So today I thought I'd try to finally write a little bit.**

 **Here's to hoping that the masses enjoy the chapter. Sorry if it sucks.**

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Upon his return to the palace, Sinbad wondered if Mya had been found yet or if he should send out a few other of his men to search for her. However after entering the palace and smelling the smell of what seemed like something he'd never had before, he quickly excused himself under the pretense of wanting to know if there was anything being cooked for everyone's lunch and all but ran to the kitchen.

Not the least bit bothered by the funny looks he was getting from everyone else.

The voices in the kitchen were a quick indicator to the fact that his Queen had finally been found. Either that or his men were slacking off when they shouldn't be.

Peeking inside, he found his generals (the ones that he had assigned as Mya's personal guards) plus the young Kou prince Kouha, all gathered around the small table not far from the stove, talking almost at once to a young woman that he could plainly see with long reddish- pinkish, silvery blond hair.

Narrowing his eyes a fraction he stepped into the room and cleared his throat just loud enough to be head by his men, causing the generals to all turn to face him and each fell silent all at once with the exception of prince Kouha. Whom either didn't seem to notice him there or just didn't care and continued to speak to the woman that Sinbad was now fairly certain was his wife.

"Are you worried or nervous about tomorrow?"

"You mean the wedding?" Mya asked curiously while the boy nodded. Sinbad stepped further into the room so that he could listen a little more while keeping himself just out of sight so that he wouldn't be seen for the moment as she replied. "No. But the fact that you keep asking me that is beginning to make me just a little a bit paranoid about what to expect."

"Oh... Sorry." Kouha said as he blushed slightly and awkwardly looked away from his lady.

Mya made a humming sound but said nothing more before Sinbad finally decided to pipe up. "You have nothing to worry about as far as the wedding is concerned. _I_ have taken care of everything. All you need to do is wear the dress that I had made for you, and enjoy the sights, sounds and food. By the way, I have a non wedding related question-" Sinbad said as he pointed to her as she turned to look at him and noted the bandages around his neck and narrowed her eyes.

"So do I." Mya chimed in with an almost sickly sweet smile as she waited for him to continue with his question. He blinked at her for a moment wondering what she wished to ask before realizing that she was patiently waiting for him to ask his question already.

"Oh, sorry but- What happened to your hair?" He finally blurted out, his tone curious.

"I'll only tell you if you tell me why the hell you have bandages around your neck."

At which point both Masrur and Hina replied for them by speaking in unison and saying, "Chemical accident." and "He cut his own throat while shaving."

Causing both Sinbad and Mya to glance in their direction with funny looks on their faces as if they wished the two men to hold their tongues. Which they probably did since both incidents were rather embarrassing even if they had been accidents.

"You cut your throat!" Mya almost shrieked at Sin causing the man to growl out,

"It was an honest accident, that behemoth over there," He jerked his thumb in Hina's direction causing the man to practically slide down in his seat like a chastised little kid. "Startled me when he burst into my room screaming about my wife having gone missing. Again... _Imagine that_." He said in a somewhat snarky tone just to push her buttons a bit before then demanding, "So what's this I hear about a chemical accident?"

"Oh that. It's nothing really. When I was bathing this morning one of the shampoos that I used had some sort of berry extract or something that temporarily dyed my hair. It should wash out in a few weeks. A month or so at most." Mya said as she grasped one of the strands that had slipped over her shoulder and glowered at it for a moment before adding, "I think I should cut it a bit. I have far too many split ends."

Sin's expression was bemused as he listened to Mya prattle on for a moment about cutting her hair before he reached out and gently took her wrist in his hand and said firmly, "Don't."

Glancing at him, Mya wondered what he was thinking when he said, "In our country women and men alike are raised to believe that a woman's hair is a symbol of beauty. Cutting it would be-"

"Cutting it would mean nothing since that's a rather vain, old fashioned and outdated way of thinking that died out in my home land hundreds of years ago. There are many beautiful women that I know of with hair far shorter than a man's." Mya said, cutting Sinbad off.

The man narrowed his honey colored amber eyes at her for a moment before making his first serious mistake in a while. He said the magic words that were a sure way to enrage anyone of the female persuasion.

"I forbid it." Had no sooner left his lips than Mya had picked up a sharp knife that she had been planning to use to cut up some stuff for the food that she was cooking in a few minutes and with a sickly sweet smile that seemed to both alarm and catch her husband off guard, she promptly hacked off a majority of her hair so that the lop sided strands now barely reached the middle of her back.

And then handed the cut strands to him and said pleasantly, "Here, _darling_. Enjoy." And then turned away from the lot of dismayed males both seated and standing around her husband as Sinbad practically gaped at her back in slack jawed disbelief.


	81. Chapter 81

Sinbad was silent for a moment as he looked between his wife and the hair that she had none too ceremoniously handed to him and made a weird squeaking sound before looking over at his men. Each of them wore identical expressions of shock with the exception of Kouha who looked as if he were trying, very, very hard not to laugh at the lot of them.

"D-Did you see that?" Sinbad finally managed to stutter out.

Each of his generals nodded their heads before Sharrkan said in a stunned tone, "We did. We saw. You forbad her and she cut her hair."

"And said enjoy 'darling' as she handed it to you." Masrur said as Hina stood up and took a moment to stretch before muttering.

"I-I need to speak to Rurumu."

"Yes! Go get Rurumu and see if she can fix the mess my wife has made!" Sinbad snapped at the man when each of them heard a very loud and disconcerting sound of a blade stabbing so deep into something that it may never be retrieved. And turned their heads to look at their Queen.

"I'm sorry but did you say something about a mess? Cause this is all your fault you stupid boy." The young woman growled at Sin causing his eyes to widen a fraction as he took in her expression before squeaking out in that weird tone akin to a young man going through puberty.

"Me! How is this my fault?"

Mya then turned to his generals and each of them looked away and began to whistle when Mya snapped, "Well fella's? You going to clue him in or not?"

And in unison each replied, "You said, 'I forbid it'." Before Hina went on to explain, "I forbad my wife from doing something once... It didn't go well on my end. Not only did I wind up with bruises where no man should have them but she made me sleep out in the hall for several months." He said before promptly bursting into tears causing the others to all cringe in horror.

"Yeah, Sin. You should never say that you forbid your woman from doing anything that isn't logical. It'll just mess things up in your relationship and make her wish to defy you more." Sharrkan lectured his king, hoping that he'd learn from this experience since their Queen was a tad bit on the willful side.

Sinbad slowly closed his fingers around the severed strands of his wife's silken hair and let out a low growl before practically pulling Mya away from the stove and shoving her into Hinahoho's hands and yelling, "Go see Rurumu now and get her hair straightened out! I will not have Mya embarrass herself or the rest of us by meeting our allies as she is. Nor will she be saying her vows with her hair an uneven mess tomorrow!"

Mya turned her head to glare at him and began to open her mouth to tell him to go fuck himself- she'd look any way she pleased even if it meant rolling around in a pig pin for their damn wedding, but Hina placed his huge hand over her mouth and whispered in a conspirator's tone.

"Learn to pick your fights my lady. You won't win this one, so concede so that we can do what we must." Mya narrowed her eyes a bit as she glared at her husband and mentally swore to throttle the life out of him later as Hina guided her out of the kitchen and down the hallway towards his family's living quarter's.

A few minutes later she found herself sitting on a small stool in front of the fireplace while Hina's wife, Rurumu carefully took the time to straighten her hair out before Mya asked for a straight razor and a mirror and once she had them, waited until the woman was watching her curiously before taking hold of her hair and beginning to divide it up before taking the razor to the strands and hacking some of the tips off.

Alarmed by what she was doing, Rurumu reached out to stop her when Mya paused for a moment to explain what she was doing. Something called layering. And once she was done 'layering' her hair with the straight razor, Rurumu was interested to see just how well her Queen's hair curled fetchingly.

It was really a rather intriguing process.

One that she would have to remember herself for future reference just in case her Queen ever decided to do the same thing ever again.

Setting the razor aside Mya sighed before saying lightly, "Would it be alright if I talked to you about something in secret?" Her green eyes flickered towards Hina who had been watching everything quietly from the doorway ever since they had arrived here.

She understood that the warrior was married to the giantess in front of her and that like most warriors- he protected what he claimed as his- but honestly he had nothing to fear from her. It wasn't as if she was gonna go psycho on anyone's ass but Sinbad's.

Mainly because he pissed her off earlier. And also partially because she wasn't stupid enough to think that she could do any real damage to the woman in front of her if they ever got into a fight.

In fact she was pretty sure that all the woman would have to do to end said hypothetical fight, was toss her as high as she could in the air and simply let her fall. Either one of two things would happen. Neither of them were good.

Besides, she had wanted to speak to the women and now was as good a time as any.

"Of course my lady." Rurumu said politely as she cast her husband a look that spoke volumes of just what she would do to him if he didn't leave the room voluntarily. Hina however didn't need her to say anything, his large body was already kicking up a small dust trail as he practically ran for the door.

Leaving the two women to their talk.


	82. Chapter 82

**Wow I almost 400 reviews on this.**

 **That's a first for me so I'm a tad bit excited.**

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Rurumu stared at her adopted daughter/Queen as the door to her families living quarters closed behind her husband. Her Queen was strangely silent under her scrutiny. In fact she seemed almost pensive as Rurumu asked her, "What is it that you wish to speak about, my lady?"

"Sinbad told me last night over dinner about the war that nearly destroyed Sindria," To say that the woman was startled by the words would be an understatement. "He told me about the friends that each of you lost. What started the war and how it ended and how long it took to rebuild... And then he broke down and cried, perhaps for the first time in a long, long time."

Rurumu took several moments to think before asking, "This is what you wished to speak about? The war?"

"Not exactly. I wanted to ask you for a favor or two, just something between us girls. One is that I ask you to keep the secret plans that I'm about to divulge. And two... Well, I think I may need some extra help with said plans since I still don't know the kingdom very well."

Rurumu nodded her head slowly, her blue eyes sparking with curiosity as Mya went on to say, "I plan to make myself the kingdom's sword and shield. To protect everyone from the unspeakable atrocities begotten by war." Mya glanced at the giantess to gauge her reaction to her words and found that the woman had an peculiar smile on her face.

"What do you require of me my lady?" She asked.

Mya started off with her ideas for body armor, weapons, and someone to train with just for starters. She would also need supporters, people willing to fight along side her should the worst happen and war break out again.

All in all by the time Mya was done, Rurumu was so impressed by her lady Queen/adopted daughter's initiative that after the girl had left with the promise of sending more food for her family later on and a future meeting, Rurumu had found herself going into hers and Hinahoho's bedroom and dusting off her spear while thinking to herself.

 _It would be good to bring the 'punisher' out of retirement after fifteen years of disuse._ Quickly followed by the thought of, _Both father and father-in-law would love to meet my lady daughter._

She giggled and carefully placed her spear back upon the shelf where it had been collecting dust since her marriage, so that her husband wouldn't know what she and her Queen were getting themselves into. After all if Hina ever found out- he would likely tie her to their bed and never let her go.

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Hina didn't bother asking Mya what she had wished to speak to his wife about.

After all for all he knew their conversation could have been about what would occur in her marriage bed. No instead the giant was attempting to distract himself with his Queen's new hair style.

That weirdly nice, and fanciful style that made even his fingers _itch_ to reach out and touch the wispy, feathery silken strands that cascaded down the small woman's back.

"What are you doing?" His Queen's voice cut through his thoughts like a knife through butter. Almost causing the man to jump.

"I-I was just looking at your hair." He stammered out. Mya made a humming sound but didn't speak again for several moments.

"I see... Do you mind taking me to my room? I know that Sinbad has foreign dignitaries here that I'll have to meet in a bit, but I want to get myself cleaned up a little first."

"Very well, my lady." Hina said with one last look at her hair before he began walking in front of her, leading the way. Unknowing and unconcerned of just how _bad_ her sense of direction was.


	83. Chapter 83

**Merry Christmas everyone.**

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Thirty five minutes later-

Hina was concerned. He was very, _very_ concerned. Especially since his Queen had somehow managed to give him the slip and was once again missing.

 _Oh bloody hell._ Hinahoho thought to himself in irritation as he began the slow and somewhat tedious task of backtracking in order to locate his Queen so that she could bathe and style her long silken hair in an acceptable style so that the other royals among the Seven Sea's Alliance didn't accidentally mistake her for a maid or servant.

"Lady Mya! Lady Mya! Hey, where are you?" Hinahoho tried calling out softly just in case someone else was nearby. After all he did not wish to embarrass the young woman needlessly. Beside for all he knew she might have accidentally gotten distracted by something on their way to her chambers.

But what?

The only real rooms in this particular part of the palace were the treasure rooms. Rolling his eyes skyward because he could have just slapped himself for being so damn dumb, Hina sighed and began checking all of the rooms until he finally found his Queen.

She was in the last treasure room where Sinbad had stored away many items given to him over the course of his young life, for his future bride.

"Lady Mya what are you doing in here?" He asked curiously as he walked up behind the young woman who jumped and made a soft startled yelping sound and then placed a hand against her chest and gave him a weird look before seeming to calm down enough to actually reply.

"Hina, you scared me." He smiled at her in an unrepentant manner but said nothing. After all had she not scared him with her vanishing act just a few minutes prior? As far as he was concerned, turn about was fair play.

"But I guess you don't really care about that if the look on your face is anything to go by," Again, Hina gave her that unrepentant look that he had so shamelessly copied from Sin. "I didn't mean to simply vanish on you without warning but I wanted to look for a thing or two." Mya explained before saying. "I hope that that is okay."

"It is fine. After all you are the mistress of this palace." Hina said as she knelt down and picked up the small wooden and jewel encrusted box that she had found before the giant had damn near scared her out of a years growth.

"I found this box and put a few things in it that I might be able to use for tonight and tomorrow. And I also found a nice sliver embroidered pale blue gown over there-" She said as she pointed to a pile of exotic fabrics that had been used to make dresses and gowns. "I was thinking of wearing it tonight to meet Sinbad's friends. What do you think?"

Hina thought for a moment as he considered which dress she was talking about. It was the one that his sister had made for Sinbad's future bride as a 'thank you' for doing her a favor.

"I think it would be a good choice. But the decision is ultimately yours."

"Okay then. Let's try another way, do you think Sinbad will like seeing me in it?"

Hina gave her an amused smile as he thought, _Boy would he._ Sin would likely decide to have his wedding night far earlier than planned once he saw his lady wife wearing the pale blue dress.

Mya gave the giant a disgruntled look and sighed. _Geez but he was no help at all._ She thought as she walked over and grabbed the dress and then walked back to where he was standing and tilted her head back to look up at him. "Alright, I'm done here. I still need to bathe and dress and make myself presentable."

Nodding his head, Hina then turned and began to lead her out of the room before catching his mistake and paused long enough to reach out and grasp her free hand so that he wouldn't lose her again.

He had a feeling that if he didn't she would have just gotten herself lost again. Several minutes later once Hina delivered his lady Queen to her chambers, he then decided to make himself scarce until she was done bathing and dressing and thus spent a good amount of time outside of her room where the others finally met up with him.

"Hina! Your pops and my brother's here!" Sharrkan called out as he and the others walked up with Prince Kouha in tow. "And your pop and my bro are looking for us and our Queen. So is she ready yet?"

"No. Not yet. She's currently bathing and changing clothes to make herself more presentable."

"How did her visit with your wife go?" Masrur asked politely. Hina grinned at them and told them that the visit to see his wife went well. And kept his suspicions that his lady Queen was keeping something from them, to himself.


	84. Chapter 84

**Hey everyone, Babykitsune-9 here.**

 **Sorry I haven't been updating like I usually do. I've been depressed a lot lately and when I get depressed I spread myself too thin.**

 **If anyone is confused about anything that I'm posting, the reasons behind my work or lack-there-of has to do with the death of my adopted mother Velma. I met her when I was nine, and she and her daughter- my sister, cousin friend thing- Robin have over the last twenty something years both encouraged and been a sort of inspiration for me.**

 **She passed away on the 13th and we buried her Sunday.**

 **And while I'm sort of okay with the fact that she isn't here anymore due to how much agony she had to be in with her breast cancer, kidney failure, and of course the broken ribs she got when she was given CPR at the hospital- she _was_ of course- my mom. **

**And I loved her very much. And she will be sorely missed.**

 **So here's this chapter. Forgive me if it doesn't make much sense, I'm trying to build up to some things and I'm also trying to figure out what those things are.**

 **So enjoy.**

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Mya was just finishing putting the finishing touches on her outfit and styling her hair in a semi loose twist held in place by a couple of jeweled hair combs that held it out of the way while she took several moments to carefully apply some makeup stuff to her eye lids and her lips.

After making sure that all of the color that she used was neutral enough to match the pale blue dress that she was wearing, she then fastened a necklace around her throat.

And slipped on a matching pair of bracelets with what looked like diamonds and sea blue topaz's with little clear blue sapphire's spotted here and there around the bands and other gems before she finally picked up the matching set of earrings that she had just happened to find.

Once the earrings were in place, she took a step back from the mirror that she had been using to check her appearance and gave herself a careful once over before shrugging her shoulders. Figuring that if anyone took exception to how she looked then- Oh well.

It wasn't like she really cared one way or the other. If she had it her way she would greet her husband's friends dressed in dirt and grease covered overalls with a halter top on underneath and no makeup at all.

But since she wasn't making any attempts to embarrass her husband in front of his friends since they could make her life hell if they wished, and while she would have probably enjoyed exchanging mental blows with them to see what kind of people she was up again, she doubted that Sinbad would care much for her mortifying attitude.

Sighing because she normally wasn't so _...bitchy_?

She chalked what she was feeling up to possible jitters or something. After all it wasn't everyday that she met foreign dignitaries/royalty from different countries, as well as got married to a king.

You know come to think of it, maybe she could find a nice quiet, dark broom closet to hide in? Or maybe she could con the guys into helping her build herself a little pillow fort and hang a sign on it saying, _No foreign dignitaries allowed!_ And just stay there in it until Sinbad's friends were gone.

She suddenly wasn't one hundred percent sure that she could do this.

That didn't make her a coward, did it? After all she was just nervous and worried almost unto the point of possible hysteria that she would do or say something wrong that would cause problems for Sinbad in the long run. However after taking several moments to calm and center herself through deep breathing exercises before she began to slowly make her way towards the door.

Finally feeling that she might be able to handle whatever was thrown at her by her husband's friends.

Boy did she not have a clue...

It was at least an hour after she finally decided to face her fears when she finally ran into Sinbad again. She flanked by her guards and he flanked by his friends. A group of men and one woman. All nobles like her husband if their appearance's were anything to go by.

Some even bore striking resemblance to several of her guards.

"Mya?" Sinbad said as he stopped walking and talking to his friends several feet from where his wife stood. His honey colored gaze taking in her appearance in semi shock.

 _She was a vision_. More lovely than mere words could describe.

She was wearing the pale blue dress that Hina's sister had made for his future bride when he had been fifteen or sixteen years old.

Her once waist length hair had been cut and fetchingly styled to fall around her face, neck, shoulders and down her back in soft whispy semi curls. The silvery blond/reddish-pink color of her hair had lightened to more of a pale silvery, blond, pink color since he had last saw her.

Meaning that she must have bathed recently.

Flushing under his intense scrutiny, Mya waited for him to say something before finally remembering that she should greet his friends. Recalling a book that she had read about some dated greetings. She sorted through the information stored away in her mind before finally settling on a curtsy.

It was simple, elegant, and a decent sign of respect.

Or at least she hoped that it was.

Dropping into and curtsy, she made her best effort of greeting her husband's friends in as polite a manner as possible while making sure to thank them for coming and introducing herself. After which she rose back to her full height and began to brush past a still shell shocked Sinbad, saying something about making sure that dinner fro tonight was properly prepared before disappearing down the hall.

Once out of earshot of Sinbad and his friends, the men following her each exchanged a funny look before one of them bothered to ask. "Lady Mya?"

"Hn?"

"What was that?"

"That, gentlemen was me on the verge of a panic attack. Which is why I will be in the kitchen. Avoiding everyone and everything until Sinbad's friends are gone."

"Wha-"

"No time to chat. Gotta hide!" Mya said before hiking up her skirt and taking off at a dead run away from them. The men once again exchanged a look with each other, each wondering what was going on with their Queen since she was acting as if she had more than mere wedding jitters.

No, the blasted woman was acting as if the palace was suddenly under siege.

It wasn't until she was well out of their sight before Masrur made a funny sound, drawing the other's attention to him before he said. "We...just lost a _very_ directionally challenged woman in the palace."

 _"Oh damn."_ Hina swore as he face palmed before he took off running the same way Mya had gone. Hell bent on finding and dragging the woman back before they had to lockdown the palace, _again_.


	85. Chapter 85

Mya didn't bother stopping or slowing down until she somehow wound up- Uh... _somewhere_ unfamiliar in one of the palace wings. _Damn it. I really need to either start paying attention to where I'm going or start marking the place up._ She thought in frustration.

This was not the flipping kitchen. In fact she would bet that she was as far from her desired destination as a directionally challenged person like her could possibly be.

And naturally she had lost the others way, way back where she had been when she had run into Sin and his friends so she couldn't very well turn around and ask one of them where the hell she was.

Huffing slightly, she looked around for a moment before noting that she was in an part of the palace that had a strange, almost familiar look to it.

The place she had found herself in was up high, possibly built into one of the palace towers, and had what looked like a terrace with a small garden of strange and exotic flowers and a large weeping willow tree with what looked like a decent sized stone monument underneath it.

Curious about what she was seeing, she walked slowly, almost hesitantly over to stand underneath the tree and stared at the monument for a moment before realizing just what it was exactly she was looking at.

A gravestone.

She was staring at a person sized gravestone engraved with names. Hundreds and hundreds of them. Possibly thousands of them.

Was this the gravestone of the people that Sinbad and his friends had lost during the war that her husband had spoken of? She wondered curiously as she reached out to very lightly run her fingertips over the smooth white marble as someone cleared their throat somewhere behind her.

Mya jumped and made a funny little 'eep' sound as she turned her head to find Ja-far standing just a few feet behind her with a thoughtful expression on his face.

"When the other's came to me and told me that you had run off and gotten lost again, I never imagined that I would find you here." He said lightly as he walked over to stand beside her, his emerald green eyes staring at her as if he were trying to see into her heart.

Or perhaps that was just a fanciful notion on her part?

She wasn't sure. All she knew was that he had to resist the urge to squirm a little under the young man's stare before asking warily, "Am I not supposed to be here?" _Was this place supposed to be a secret?_ She wondered as Ja-far gave a soft laugh, his lips curving up ever so slightly in amusement at her question.

"No. That wasn't what I meant, I just found it strange that you had managed to get lost and somehow find yourself here."

"This monument... It's for the people that died during the war here, isn't it?" Mya asked. Ja-far gave her a slightly calculating look before nodding his head, yes.

"Yes. Everyone that fell beneath the onslaught of arrows, swords and fire all have their names inscribed on this stone. And every year since the war, Sinbad and those of us who fought to save everyone come here to hold a memorial service for those who died."

Mya was silent as she stared at the stone for a moment as Ja-far asked. "Does that bother you?" She looked up at him with a scowl on her pretty face as she said,

"No. That doesn't bother me. The dead should be remembered fondly. My grandfather used to tell me that when people are born, they are born with the purpose of touching the lives of those around them. That way someday when they die- a part of them still live on each year that those remember them, live." Mya said before asking in a tentative tone. "Do you think Sinbad would be upset if I asked to have my parents, brothers, and grandparents names added to the stone?"

Ja-far blinked at her before slowly replying, "If he doesn't wish to add them to the stone, then we could have another stone made specifically for them. Would that be alright?"

"That would be fine."

"Then I will ask him on your behalf."

"Thanks."

Ja-far made a humming sound and then fell silent as she moved away from him to check out the rest of the small garden as he meandered away from the memorial stone and over to a stone bench a few feet away and sat himself down. He was in no true hurry to leave since Mya would likely get lost again if he left her alone for any length of time.

Besides, Masrur would sniff the two of them out eventually anyways.


	86. Chapter 86

Sure enough, barely half an hour later- Masrur appeared in the garden with the others trailing along behind him, each one breathing hard and red faced at having to attempt to keep up with the fanalis's speed. "Well, I wondered when you guys would finally get here." Ja-far said with a little smile as he turned his head ever so slightly to look at them.

"Yeah, yeah. We're slow. We get it." Sharrkan snapped sarcastically before demanding, "Where the hell is she?"

Ja-far cocked his head a bit as he regarded the swordsman with an more than innocent expression. "Where's who?" He asked curiously, though he knew damn well that the man was pissed at their lady Queen for getting lost again.

"You know damn well who I'm talking about. Now where is she?" The swordsman practically shouted in his face.

"I'm right here." Mya said in an annoyed tone as she popped up from somewhere in the middle of one of the flower beds. Sharrkan let out a startled shriek of surprise and grabbed the person nearest to him the moment that she popped up, causing Ja-far to chuckle softly at his lady Queen's guard's antics.

"What the hell- Woman, _what_ are you doing rolling around in the dirt?!" Sharrkan yelled at her as she carefully picked stray blades of greenery out of her hair before giving the platinum haired man a bored look.

"I wasn't rolling around in the dirt you idiot, I was sunning myself. This place is so quiet and peaceful...well, sort of," She said as she shot the swordsman a dark look before going on to say almost absently, "It's perfect for napping on a nice, warm, sunny day..." Mya said before then turning to Sharrkan and tacking on in a deadpan tone.

"By the way, has anyone ever told you that you scream and bitch like a little girl?"

Causing the swordsman's jaw to drop in almost comical horror while the others simply watched and attempted to hide their amusement while they waited for whatever was going to happen or be said next.

Sharrkan for once appeared to be floundering, apparently being likened to a woman had shocked him into silence for a moment before he even bothered to try replying to his lady's insult to his masculinity. "I- You- I'm not-"

"Are you always this articulate or am I just special?" Mya asked as she looked away from him to pay attention to something else while he gathered his wits.

Unfortunately he couldn't seem to come up with a rebuttal of any kind and only made a slightly high pitched half squeak/half whine that only severed to hurt her ears a little bit before Kouha finally thought to ask since it appeared that the others wouldn't be bothering to, "Is this where you would like to hide yourself for a while, my lady?"

Mya gave the teen a slightly tight lipped smile in response to his question as Ja-far tilted his head to the side a little bit and asked in a startlingly sharp tone, "What do you mean, our lady wishes to hide herself away?"

Hina looked at the young man as he replied, "Our lady, met up with Sinbad and a few from the alliance earlier and sort of panicked. She hid it well though, but after they had left she decided to hide herself for a few hours."

"I think she was intimidated." Masrur explained to Ja-far almost absently in a whisper-like tone. Ja-far cocked his head a little bit as he considered the fanalis' words for a moment and then wondered if perhaps Mya's being intimidated perhaps had something to do with her upbringing.

Come to think of it- none of them really knew much about their new Queen aside from what little bit of information she and Sinbad had given them.

"My lady, will you tell us of where you come from?" Ja-far asked, deciding that it was time that they knew a bit more about their Queen. Someone should have really asked her this before, but with things the way that they were... All of them had simply been kept too preoccupied or busy to even try asking more about her life.

Mya blinked at him for a moment before asking, "W-What exactly do you want to know? Is there anything specific?"

Ja-far thought for a moment before asking curiously. "What are the nobles like where you are from?"

"There aren't any."

"Wha-"

"There aren't any nobles where I'm from. Everyone is more or less the same." Mya said and watched as each of the men practically dropped their jaws and stared at her in open mouthed shock and disbelief before someone managed to stammer out in a squeaky voice.

 _"There aren't any nobles?!"_

Mya stared at the lot of them wide eyed for a moment and then slowly shook her head now before explaining, "No. There haven't been any nobles, where I'm from, in ages. In fact most noble bloodlines have died out completely due to rebellion, assassination, illness, disease, famine and war. And anyone that did manage to survive those things and have kids and grandkids- well their bloodlines are more commoner than noble now."

Someone made a weird, strained squeaking sound as they all exchanged glances.

Of all the things that their Queen could have told them, that was the least expected. Though it would certainly explain her peculiar mannerisms, and patterns of speech and such. It would also explain why she had felt intimidated when meeting Sinbad's friends from the Seven sea's alliance.

"I-I see." Was all that _any_ of the men could think to say before Ja-far managed to shake himself from his stupor and asked.

"Well if there are no nobles, then how do people in... _different_ classes live?"

"They live the same as everyone else. Many of us were raised on the belief that no one person is better than any other. People may be born into/marry into wealth, however they are raised in much the same manner. Though there are occasionally those who feel that they are- _exceptional_."

"Ah- I see." Ja-far said, understanding what she had been trying to hint at before going on to ask, "And how are such people dealt with?"

"Depends on what they've done. But more often than not, they lose their homes, their jobs, and wealth. Other times, they're dealt with by the authorities. Whereas those that stay out of trouble usually are able to keep what they own and become even more wealthy through hard work. A lot of them contribute far more to society than the others do. In fact after my parent's and brothers died...I had a classmate that I went to school with that was from one such family. And he talked to his parents and had them see about getting temporary custody of me until my grandparents could be found."

"They were really nice to open their home to me like that. And just before I left, I found out that my classmate's parents had been looking into adopting me just in case my grandparents weren't able to take me. My classmate even told me that even if I couldn't be his sister and I left, that their home would always be open to me if I ever wanted to visit for a while."

Everyone was quiet for a moment as Mya turned her head to look at one of the flowers, gently swaying in the breeze and said more to herself than them, "I wonder how they are doing? And if his parents were ever able to adopt? There are so many unwanted children from broken homes, orphans and so on- And his family was so nice, I hope that they were able to adopt a kid or two...dozen. God knows that too many of those kids need such a good home with nice loving parents."

Knowing that they had just learned something else important about Mya's life before she had come to Sindria, Ja-far merely smiled as he said. "If the couple was as nice as you say- then I'm sure that they did manage to adopt." Though he still sort of had no idea what 'adopt' meant, he could guess the general gist of the word.

Mya looked back at them and nodded her head before slowly getting to her feet with a sigh. "That's certainly a nice thought. However don't all of us have something else to be doing right now?"

 _"Yes, my lady!"_ Everyone said at once as she carefully removed herself from the flower bed and brushed off her dress just to make sure that no dirt or grass was still clinging to it.

"Okay, everyone. Let's go find Sin."


	87. Chapter 87

**Okay, I'm not terribly sure that this will be a very long chapter since I have a pretty bad migraine headache right now. So if it isn't don't hold it against me and I'll try to lengthen it at a later date. In the meantime here is the latest- and hopefully entertaining chap of Sweet Stranger.**

 **Enjoy.**

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The moment that Mya led them from the garden, Sharrkan began whining. "Does anyone have a bad feeling about letting her lead us? Cause I'm getting a bad feeling about it." He rambled as the others silently exchanged glances with each other behind their Queen and the swordsman's backs.

As if to say, Well- We'll just have to see how this goes before we intervene, as the group continued to trail after Mya.

And sure enough ten minutes later...Sharrkan's paranoia began to get to everyone. And I do mean _everyone_. Even Mya's patience with the swordsman was slowly beginning to wear thin. Of course it didn't help things any that he kept rambling about her lousy sense of direction and how Sin would never find their bodies once she got them good and lost.

At one point, she had to even bite her own tongue to keep from pointing out that they had lived in the palace for far longer than she, so the possibility of them getting lost within it's walls were practically non existent unless they were fools.

And so far, out of the whole group following her- Sharrkan seemed to be the only one that stood out as a fool to her. But then again, that may have just had something to do with the fact that he was slowly pissing her off.

So she had a lousy sense of direction, so what.

It wasn't like anyone had bothered to show her around _before_ or anything. Nooo. From the moment that she had first awoken within the palace she... Feeling her head begin to ache a bit, she reached up with one hand and massaged her throbbing temple for a few moments, unaware of the fact that she was being carefully observed by Ja-far, Hina, Kouha, and Masrur.

Wondering where those particular thoughts had come from, Mya decided to analyze them later. Perhaps when she had some time to herself. Dropping her hand back to her side, she vaguely listened to Sharrkan's continued paranoid ranting before finally deciding that if the man feared being lost so goddamn much then she'd get him so lost he wouldn't even know which direction was up.

Turning her head slightly, she smiled sweetly at the group and then walked up to the nearest window, and climbed out it and let herself drop to the closest surface so that she could get a better look around so that she could lead the others a bit better.

She didn't hear the shocked shouts and cries of alarm coming from... Where ever the hell she had been before. Instead she waited until everyone had followed suit, and with another sweet smile jumped off of the ledge that she had landed on and landed on another and propelled herself forward at a speed that surprised, even Masrur, and continued to jump around from one place to another before she finally landed deftly on the ground and then turned and ran around the palace- out of sight.

The men all exchanged looks with each other again, this time their expressions were telling.

 _They. Blamed. Sharrkan. For. Everything. That. Was Going. To. Happen. Next._

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"So that was the young lady you are marrying? She was more polite than I expected." Sharrkan's older brother said as he seated himself between Sin and the Queen of Artemyra whom murmured in agreement with him.

Sinbad did his best not to scowl at the two upon hearing the offhand insult based solely on the fact that they already thought he and a majority of his people were absolute heathens. Still, that was no reason to assume that his chosen Queen would be.

If anything, even he had been pleasantly surprised by Mya's beauty, politeness and grace.

She had done him proud.

Especially after the stunt that she had pulled earlier that morning when she had hacked her long silky hair off and handed it to him after he had forbidden her from cutting it. To be perfectly honest, he was still a tad bit miffed at her for that- though he managed to hide it well underneath his usual good humor.

"Yes. That is she." Sin said as he leaned back in his plushly cushioned wooden chair.

"And where did you find such a gem, Sin? From what we've been told by your household vessel users- you haven't traveled to any exotic lands lately." Rametoto asked curiously.

"Oh. Yes that's right. I actually met lady Mya here on the island. As you know, your daughter, Rurumu has been badly ill for some time now- well, after exhausting every resource I could think of to help her get well again- I kind of stumbled over Lady Mya. She's an orphan who was raised by her elderly grandparents. Both of whom were war hero's. Her grandfather fought on the front line during the war in her country, and her grandmother acted as a healer and saved many people."

"Well, both of them passed away a while back and Lady Mya- as you saw for yourselves- is still considered to be very young. Young enough to be adopted, as a matter of fact. So Hinahoho decided to adopt the little darling and not too long after she helped Rurumu get better. It was amazing! It only took her a few weeks to do what I and every healer I had brought to the palace have been trying to do for a year or more. So naturally, she seemed like a good choice in bride. Plus, she's usually a very reasonable, and thoughtful person." Sin said, only half lying about that last part.

The woman was only reasonable and thoughtful if she wasn't going into hysterics about being married and trying to drown people.

Speaking of- he'd have to warn his friends not to get left alone with Mya around any large bodies of water. He wanted no drowning victims if he could help it.


End file.
